Opinion ID: 655313
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Attorneys' fee calculation

Text: 11 Sections 1973l(e) and 1988 accord the district court discretion to award reasonable attorneys' fees to prevailing parties. To determine the award amount, the court must first calculate the lodestar by multiplying the number of hours reasonably spent on the litigation times a reasonable hourly billing rate. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 434, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 1939, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983). The court should consider the factors announced in Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, Inc., 488 F.2d 714, 717-19 (5th Cir.1974) 4 when analyzing the reasonableness of the hours expended and the hourly rate requested. Once determined, the lodestar may be adjusted upward or downward if the Johnson factors, not included in the reasonable fee analysis, warrant the adjustment. Shipes v. Trinity Indus., 987 F.2d 311, 320 (5th Cir.1993). The lodestar, however, is presumptively reasonable and should be modified only in exceptional cases. City of Burlington v. Dague, --- U.S. ----, ----, 112 S.Ct. 2638, 2641, 120 L.Ed.2d 449 (1992). 12 On appeal, we review the court's award of attorneys' fees for abuse of discretion and the supporting factual findings for clear error. Von Clark v. Butler, 916 F.2d 255, 258 (5th Cir.1990). Due to the district court's superior knowledge of the facts and the desire to avoid appellate review of factual matters, the district court has broad discretion in setting the appropriate award of attorneys' fees. Hensley, 461 U.S. at 436-37, 103 S.Ct. at 1941.
13 The party seeking attorneys' fees must present adequately documented time records to the court. Using this time as a benchmark, the court should exclude all time that is excessive, duplicative, or inadequately documented. Hensley, 461 U.S. at 432-34, 103 S.Ct. at 1939; Von Clark, 916 F.2d at 259. The hours surviving this vetting process are those reasonably expended on the litigation. 14 Here, the court considered each time entry documented by Appellants. From the total billable hours, the court disallowed 274 hours spent on lobbying-related activities, 230 hours of travel time, 86.87 hours of pre-litigation time which the court considered excessive, 125.4 hours the court characterized as duplicative or excessive, and four hours spent on press conferences. Watkins, 807 F.Supp. at 412-14. We find no reversible error in the district court's analysis.a. Lobbying Activity 15 Prior to filing suit, Appellants spent significant time lobbying the Mississippi Legislature and the Attorney General. Appellants contend they should be compensated for this time. We disagree. 16 Under §§ 1973l(e) and 1988, the district court may award attorneys' fees to a prevailing party in any action or proceeding. Prevailing parties may recover only that time reasonably expended on the litigation. Hensley, 461 U.S. at 433, 103 S.Ct. at 1939. While prevailing parties may be compensated for time spent preparing to file suit, they may not recover for their pre-litigation participation in the preclearance process under § 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Craig v. Gregg County, 988 F.2d 18, 21 (5th Cir.1993). 17 Similarly, time spent lobbying a state legislature before filing a lawsuit is not time reasonably expended on the litigation. In Webb v. Board of Ed. of Dyer County, the Supreme Court held that the district court could, in its discretion, disallow time spent pursuing optional administrative remedies. 471 U.S. 234, 244, 105 S.Ct. 1923, 1929, 85 L.Ed.2d 233 (1985). Lobbying resembles such an optional remedy. Instead of filing suit, individuals may seek relief through the political process. While, at times, it may be advisable to pursue political alternatives before resorting to litigation, these activities, occurring before the initiation of a lawsuit, are not within the purview of litigation. See generally id. at 242-43, 105 S.Ct. at 1928. Furthermore, Appellants did not show that any discrete portion of the work product from the [lobbying] was work that was both useful and of a type ordinarily necessary to advance the civil rights litigation to the stage it reached before settlement. Id. at 243, 105 S.Ct. at 1928-29. Because pre-litigation lobbying is not a necessary precursor to the filing of a lawsuit, the district court did not abuse its discretion when it deducted these hours during its lodestar analysis. 18 b. Press Conferences 19 This circuit has not yet decided whether prevailing parties may recover attorneys' fees for time spent holding press conferences. The district court opined that time spent on press conferences is not spent on the litigation. Watkins, 807 F.Supp. at 413. The Ninth Circuit, however, has allowed recovery when a prevailing party shows that the press conferences contributed, directly and substantially, to the attainment of [the party's] litigation goals. Davis v. San Francisco, 976 F.2d 1536, 1545 (9th Cir.1992), vacated in part on other grounds, 984 F.2d 345 (9th Cir.1993). Without considering the merits of either position, we find no abuse of discretion in the district court's exclusion of the press-conference hours, because Appellants did not present any evidence regarding the efficacy of the press conferences, nor did they offer to present such evidence in their request for an evidentiary hearing. 20 c. Other hours excluded 21 We find no error in the district court's exclusion of time it considered inadequately documented, excessive, or duplicative. Appellants did not adequately document their travel time. Watkins, 807 F.Supp. at 413 n. 11 (The court ... is ... at a complete loss to divine where or why Mr. Rhodes was traveling during these 224 hours.); see Von Clark, 916 F.2d at 260 ([T]ime and time again this court has admonished attorneys ... to keep careful time records so that the court may determine if the hours submitted are reasonable.). Concerning the time the court characterized as excessive or duplicative, we defer to the court's experience and understanding of the case. See Hensley, 461 U.S. at 437, 103 S.Ct. at 1941.
22 After determining the hours reasonably spent on the litigation, the court must set a reasonable hourly rate. Appellants submitted affidavits of their attorneys' customary billing rates, as well as affidavits from other attorneys in the community showing the prevailing market rates in the locality to be $150 to $200 for attorneys with more than ten years' experience, and $100 to $150 for those with four to ten years' experience. In response, the State introduced attorneys' affidavits showing the market range to be between $75 and $125. Based upon these affidavits, the court set reasonable hourly rates for the lodestar calculation that were within the market range, but deviated from the customary billing rates of appellants' attorneys. 23 In Islamic Center of Miss. v. Starkville, we held that if the attorney's normal billing rate is within the range of market rates for attorneys with similar skill and experience, and the trial court chooses a different rate, the court must articulate its reasons for doing so. 876 F.2d 465, 469 (5th Cir.1989). Here, the court gave the following statement to support its decision: 24 In arriving at these figures, the court has considered the evidence submitted by the parties relating to the local rates of attorneys, and has taken into account the experience and expertise of each attorney, the nature and complexity of the case, including the level of skill and expertise required by the case, and the demands imposed on the attorneys by the case. 25 Watkins, 807 F.Supp. at 416. Although the court correctly considered the Johnson factors when setting the hourly rate, listing these factors is no substitute for a discussion of the facts supporting the court's determination of a reasonable hourly rate at odds with the normal charge of the attorney. While the district court may have correctly chosen the hourly rates, we cannot review the court's decision without knowing the reasoning behind the its choice. Simply tracking the language of Johnson does not assist us in our review of the court's actions. Therefore, we reluctantly remand the case for the district court to either (1) award each attorney's customary billing rate, or (2) state the reasons for its decision to do otherwise. 26 Appellants also argue that the district court erred in its decision to discount the hourly rate billed for travel time and work performed on clerical activities. We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion by reducing these rates. See Johnson, 488 F.2d at 717 (stating that administrative work performed by attorneys may command a lesser rate); Shirley v. Chrysler First, Inc., 763 F.Supp. 856, 858, 861 (N.D.Miss.1991) (compensating travel time at a lesser rate).
27 Not surprisingly, Appellants argue the lodestar should be enhanced, while the State contends it should be reduced. But the lodestar is presumptively reasonable. City of Burlington, --- U.S. at ----, 112 S.Ct. at 2641. The district court should not enhance the lodestar unless the prevailing party shows that enhancement is necessary to make the award of attorneys' fees reasonable. Blum v. Stenson, 465 U.S. 886, 897-98, 104 S.Ct. 1541, 1548, 79 L.Ed.2d 891 (1984). After considering the Johnson factors, including Appellants' success, the district court found that the lodestar did not require modification. 5 Watkins, 807 F.Supp. at 417. The district court has broad discretion in setting reasonable attorneys' fees, and we conclude the court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to adjust the lodestar.