Opinion ID: 1407452
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Enhancement of the lodestar fee with a multiplier

Text: Using the lodestar calculation of $352,402.00 as a starting point for a reasonable fee in this case, we further conclude that enhancing the lodestar figure through a multiplier is necessary to reflect the exceptional circumstances of this case as emphasized by the Court in the remand order. See Blum, 465 U.S. at 897, 104 S.Ct. 1541 (recognizing that an enhanced lodestar award may be justified in some cases of exceptional success (quoting Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983))). More specifically, we find that the expedited litigation timeline imposed by the Court, the wholly successful recovery for the entire class of TERI participants, the extraordinary sum of money returned to the TERI participants and ultimately saved by the TERI participants, and the termination of governmental acts constituting a breach of contract are exceptional circumstances which justify the use of a multiplier. Accordingly, we apply a multiplier of 1.25 to the lodestar calculation in order to arrive at a reasonable fee that adequately compensates counsel for the TERI plaintiffs. [9] To this total, we add the expenses incurred by counsel for the TERI plaintiffs, which this Court directed the circuit judge to include in the award of attorneys' fees, even though the state action statute does not mandate such reimbursement. [10] See also Hyatt v. Apfel, 195 F.3d 188, 192 (4th Cir.1999) (affirming a multiplier of 1.333 applied to a lodestar calculation of attorneys' fees to be paid by the defendant government entity on account of the exceptional results obtained by plaintiffs' counsel); Edmonds, 658 F.Supp. at 1148 (applying a multiplier of 1.15 to 1.25 to the lodestar fees for the plaintiffs' various attorneys to account for the exceptional circumstances surrounding the amount of money involved and the results obtained in the case). Adjusting the lodestar calculation to reflect the exceptional circumstances of this case emphasized by this Court in the remand order, we calculate a reasonable attorneys' fee as follows: Lodestar base calculation $352,402.00 Multiplier × 1.25 ____________ Subtotal $440,502.50 Add expenses incurred + 4,724.10 ____________ TOTAL ENHANCED LODESTAR $445,226.60 Accordingly, we hold that an enhanced lodestar figure equaling $445,226.60 constitutes a reasonable award of attorneys' fees to counsel for TERI plaintiffs under the state action statute.