Opinion ID: 478410
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Fees for Fee Motions

Text: 25 Defendants next argue that it was an abuse of discretion to award any fees for counsel's work on his own fee petitions. This argument is frivolous. We, like every other court that has considered the question, have held that the time spent in establishing entitlement to an amount of fees awardable under section 1988 is compensable. E.g., In re Nucorp Energy, Inc., 764 F.2d 655 (9th Cir.1985) (citing cases); see Harris v. McCarthy, 790 F.2d 753, 758-59 (9th Cir.1986).
26 Even if fees can be recovered for fee-motion work, defendants argue that it was an abuse of discretion to apply the multiplier to these fees along with the fees for trial and pretrial work. We agree. 27 Once plaintiffs' attorney arrived at the fee-petition stage, he represented the prevailing parties. Although some risk and delay still existed, both of these hazards were greatly diminished by the time the fee hearing was held. Accordingly, the factors that justified an upward adjustment for fees associated with the trial were generally absent or at least greatly reduced for litigation of the fee petition. Of course, other factors that justify an upward adjustment may be present in fee-petition litigation. See Kerr, 526 F.2d at 70. But nothing in this record indicates that any of these factors are present here. Use of the multiplier to increase the fees for fee-petition work was an abuse of discretion. 28 The district court awarded $6750 for fee-petition work, representing a lodestar figure of $4500 multiplied by 1.5. Only the lodestar amount should have been awarded. Accordingly, the district court's fee award must be reduced by $2250.