Opinion ID: 4020402
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Hours

Text: The court found that, with certain exceptions, all of the hours submitted were reasonably expended: Both NEOCH and SEIU Plaintiffs have provided the Court with extensive and detailed documentation of their hours, supported by affidavits of counsel related to billing entries, efforts to exclude excessive or redundant hours, and general exercise of billing judgment. The Court finds that Plaintiffs have submitted documentation containing sufficient detail and probative value to enable it to determine that the hours recorded were actually and reasonably expended in this action, with certain exceptions explained below. Id. at 6. The district court specifically stated that it had reviewed the time sheets and declarations of each of the attorneys. Id. at 6-7. Regarding the 2013 extension of the Decree, the court observed that the NEOCH Plaintiffs were required to review and analyze the lengthy record and docket of a seven-year-old case, numerous provisions of the Ohio Revised Code, parallel and related litigation, in addition to substantive legal research, analysis, and strategy. As the Court noted at the time, the legal issues around extending the Decree were complex and unsettled . . . and the briefing scheduled was expedited and required intense engagement by all parties. Id. at 8. Regarding the 2012 work to defend and modify the Decree, the court initially noted that at least 23 attorneys, as well as paralegals and law clerks, worked on this stage of the litigation. The court found that Plaintiffs engaged in multiple avenues of defense in order to protect the Decree, including to enjoin the collateral attack on the decree and move for civil contempt; preparing on an expedited basis to intervene at the Ohio Supreme Nos. 14-4083/ 4084/ Northeast Ohio Coalition, et al. v. Husted, et al. Page 17 4132/ 4133/ 15-3295/ 3296/ 3380/ 3381 Court; defending the Decree against Defendants’ motion to vacate; and moving to modify the Decree. Id. Regarding the SEIU Plaintiffs’ work in obtaining preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, the court recognized that Plaintiffs achieved court orders preventing the disenfranchisement of thousands of Ohio voters in 2012 and thereafter; the work required them to attack novel and complex issues of constitutional law, and required them to collect and analyze thousands of pages of evidence showing Ohio’s violations of voters’ rights. Id. The district court rejected Defendants’ allegations that the hours expended in “researching, drafting, editing, and consulting are too great,” stating “Defendants invoke a phantom specter” because their “conclusory allegations that the award was excessive and . . . counsel employed poor billing judgment” did not establish that the fees were unwarranted. Id. at 9 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). The court added that “Defendants can hardly be heard to complain about the number of hours expended by Plaintiffs, when they themselves engaged in a vigorous opposition to the Decree at nearly every phase of this litigation.” Id. The court then addressed Defendants’ other objections, including attorneys’ fees for the NEOCH Plaintiffs’ mediation costs, travel, fees for fees, SEIU Plaintiffs’ certification motion, the NEOCH motion to modify the consent decree, and the NEOCH motion for contempt. In each instance the court rejected Defendants’ arguments that the hours billed were excessive.