Opinion ID: 658201
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Did the district court err in fashioning Ray's fee award?

Text: 19 The starting point in fashioning an award of attorney's fees is to multiply the number of hours reasonably expended by a reasonable hourly rate. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 1939, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983). This lodestar may then be adjusted for the results obtained. Id. at 435-37, 103 S.Ct. at 1940-41; Norman v. Housing Auth., 836 F.2d 1292, 1302 (11th Cir.1988). Although a district court has wide discretion in performing these calculations, Hensley, 461 U.S. at 437, 103 S.Ct. at 1941, [t]he court's order on attorney's fees must allow meaningful review--the district court must articulate the decisions it made, give principled reasons for those decisions, and show its calculation. Norman, 836 F.2d at 1304.
20 The first step in the computation of the lodestar is determining the reasonable hourly rate. A reasonable hourly rate is the prevailing market rate in the relevant legal community for similar services by lawyers of reasonably comparable skills, experience, and reputation. Norman, 836 F.2d at 1299 (citing Blum v. Stenson, 465 U.S. 886, 895-96 n. 11, 104 S.Ct. 1541, 1547-48 n. 11, 79 L.Ed.2d 891 (1984)). The party seeking attorney's fees bears the burden of producing satisfactory evidence that the requested rate is in line with prevailing market rates. Id. By satisfactory evidence, we mean more than the affidavit of the attorney performing the work. Id. 21 Ray requested an hourly rate of $125. In support of that rate, he presented the district court with three affidavits, all executed by attorneys in the Dade County area, all testifying that an hourly rate of $125 was reasonable. In opposition to these affidavits, the defendants submitted another attorney's affidavit, testifying that an hourly rate of $60-75 was reasonable. A court, however, is itself an expert on the question and may consider its own knowledge and experience concerning reasonable and proper fees and may form an independent judgment either with or without the aid of witnesses as to value. Norman, 836 F.2d at 1303 (citing Campbell v. Green, 112 F.2d 143, 144 (5th Cir.1940)). 22 The district court determined that [a] reasonable hourly rate of attorneys fee for this cause of action at the time in question for an attorney with the general legal background and experience of the movant is $75.00. (Supp.R.1-400 at 2). The district court rejected Ray's request for $125 per hour as [a] review of the record and the facts established in the various filings in connection with the attorneys fee motion do not support the higher ($125.00) hourly rate sought by the movant. (Id. at n. 5). Then looking to the difficulty of the case, the contingent nature of the fee and the time limitations imposed, the district court adjusted the hourly rate upwards to $90. (Id. at 2, n. 6). 6 We find that the district court adequately explained how it determined the $90 rate. Accordingly, on remand the district court need not revisit its calculus of the reasonable hourly rate in determining Ray's fee award. 23
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25 Ray's contention that his fee award amounts to $17.34 per hour assumes that he is entitled to compensation for all 2907 hours he claims. Ray errs in that assumption. Time expended independent of the relevant federal litigation is not compensable. The Supreme Court has clearly stated that [t]he time that is compensable under Sec. 1988 is that 'reasonably expended on the litigation.'  See Webb v. Board of Educ. of Dyer County, Tenn., 471 U.S. 234, 242, 105 S.Ct. 1923, 1928, 85 L.Ed.2d 233 (1985) (quoting Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 1939, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983)); see also Brantley v. Surles, 804 F.2d 321, 325 (5th Cir.1986) (stating that Sec. 1988 does not allow fees for state court litigation based on state law). In addition, the burden rests on Ray to submit a request for fees that will enable the court to determine what time was reasonably expended on the federal litigation. See Webb, 471 U.S. at 242, 105 S.Ct. at 1928. We have warned that  '[i]n a case where part of the attorney's efforts are to go uncompensated, the burden is on the attorney to provide sufficient evidence for the court to make a correct division.'  Carmichael v. Birmingham Saw Works, 738 F.2d 1126, 1139 (11th Cir.1984) (quoting King v. McCord, 707 F.2d 466, 468 (11th Cir.1983)). 26 Ray does not contend that he has submitted his fee request in a form which would enable the district court to determine how much time was spent on the federal litigation. 7 Ray simply insists that he is due to be compensated for all of this time. 27 In determining that only 800 of the 2907 hours were devoted to the federal litigation, the district court noted that Ray's timesheets, in some instances, group together his claimed legal services, thereby making it difficult to determine the exact number of hours undertaken in the present case, vis-a-vis other (non-allowable) discrete proceedings and unsuccessful claims. (Supp.R.1-400 at n. 2). The district court correctly decided that it should disallow all claims for compensation for time expended independent of the federal litigation. However, when a request for attorney's fees does not permit easy division between compensable and non-compensable hours, a district court should require the party seeking fees to refashion its request. See King v. McCord, 707 F.2d 466, 468 (11th Cir.1983). Thus, instead of undertaking the imprecise and tortuous task of determining compensable hours based on Ray's fee request, the district court should have required Ray to resubmit his request in a form that would allow the district court to clearly delineate between the federal litigation and other matters. 28
29 Following Ray's resubmission of his fee request on remand, the district court will need to decide how many hours were reasonably expended in the conduct of the federal litigation in order to calculate Ray's fee award. Previously, the district court found only 800 hours devoted to the federal litigation of which 560 were found to be compensable. (Supp.R.1-400 at 2). A review of Ray's fee request and the record convince us that many of the hours expended in the conduct of this litigation were excessive, redundant or otherwise unnecessary. See Hensley, 461 U.S. at 434, 103 S.Ct. at 1939-40. The record is replete with long, rambling documents filed by Ray, which contain more rhetoric than substance. The fee request evidences patently excessive expenditures of time throughout the litigation. 8 Ray seeks, for example, compensation for over 100 hours for preparing his initial fee request. The trial on the merits in this case consumed only 2 1/2 days. 30 Ray argues that the district court failed to explain, in derogation of Norman v. Housing Auth., 836 F.2d 1292, 1304 (11th Cir.1988), which of the 800 hours were disallowed and why. Norman is one of a long line of decisions in this circuit applying the rule that when hours are disallowed the court should identify the hours disallowed and explain why they are disallowed. 9 The instant case evades the application of Norman. Implicit in the Norman hour-by-hour rule is the assumption that a district judge can feasibly and expeditiously engage in such a precise review. Where fee documentation is voluminous, such as in the instant case, an hour-by-hour review is simply impractical and a waste of judicial resources. Hence, the instant case falls outside the Norman hour-by-hour rule. This court has not previously addressed the question of whether fee documentation can be so voluminous as to render an hour-by-hour review impractical. 31 Other circuits have grappled with the question, and have almost uniformly held that where a fee application is voluminous, an hour-by-hour analysis of a fee request is not required. See, e.g., Jacobs v. Mancuso, 825 F.2d 559, 562 (1st Cir.1987); Mares v. Credit Bureau of Raton, 801 F.2d 1197, 1202-03 (10th Cir.1986); New York Ass'n for Retarded Children, Inc. v. Carey, 711 F.2d 1136, 1146 (2d Cir.1983); Copeland v. Marshall, 641 F.2d 880, 903 (D.C.Cir.1980). In fact, given a voluminous application, most circuits recognize the utility of across-the-board percentage cuts either in the number of hours claimed or in the final lodestar figure. See id. This approach does not relieve district courts of the requirement to concisely but clearly articulate their reasons for selecting specific percentage reductions. See Gates v. Deukmejian, 987 F.2d 1392, 1399 (9th Cir.1992). Some circuits explicitly state that the adequacy of a court's explanation should be carefully scrutinized where substantial fees are involved. See, e.g., Gates, 987 F.2d at 1399; In re Continental Illinois Sec. Litig., 962 F.2d 566, 570 (7th Cir.1992); In re Fine Paper Antitrust Litig., 751 F.2d 562, 594-95 (3d Cir.1984). Regardless, a court's explanation must provide for meaningful review. See, e.g., Gates, 987 F.2d at 1400. When faced with a massive fee application, however, an hour-by-hour review is both impractical and a waste of judicial resources. See Copeland, 641 F.2d at 903. 32 We adopt our sister circuits' position regarding review of voluminous fee applications. In a case like this one, where the fee motion and supporting documents are so voluminous, it is sufficient for the court to provide a concise but clear explanation of its reasons for the reduction. Accordingly, on remand the district court need not engage in an hour-by-hour analysis. Rather, once the district court determines how many hours were actually devoted to the conduct of the federal litigation, it may then reduce that figure in gross if a review of the resubmitted fee request warrants such a reduction.
33 Ray argues that a remand is necessary because the district court needs to decide whether this is that rare and exceptional case where an upward adjustment of the lodestar is called for because of exceptional success. We disagree. The district court has already found that the success the plaintiff achieved in this case was, in large part, due to the services at trial of another lawyer. (Supp.R.1-400 at 3 n. 7) (emphasis added). This record could not support an upward adjustment of the lodestar. Ray's argument with regard to enhancement is without merit.
34 As with his hours claimed, expenses claimed by Ray are also lumped together. Ray's expenses include costs incurred in both state and federal litigation as well as costs which cannot be allocated to any particular litigation. For example, the cost of 18,007 photocopies at 25 cents per page includes 6,427 copies allocated to the federal litigation; 3,580 copies allocated to the state litigation; and 8,000 copies not allocated to any particular litigation. Ray argues that the district court abused its discretion by reducing these expenses without explanation. We find that the burden rests with Ray to submit a request for expenses that would enable the district court to determine what expenses were incurred on the federal litigation. Accordingly, on remand Ray should be directed to resubmit a request for expenses in a form that demonstrates his entitlement to them.