Opinion ID: 416618
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Covalt Defendants

Text: 36 The trial court denied the request for attorney's fees with regard to the trademark infringement claim, but granted a $76,511.65 award on the breach of the franchise agreement claim pursuant to Or.Rev.Stat. Sec. 20.096(1) (1981) (allowing award of attorney's fees against either party when contract provides for attorney's fee recovery from one or both contractual parties). 11 37 State law governs the award of attorney's fees in diversity actions. Kabatoff v. Safeco Ins. Co., 627 F.2d 207, 210 (9th Cir.1980); Schulz v. Lamb, 591 F.2d 1268, 1272 (9th Cir.1978). The parties agree that Oregon law imposes liability for attorney's fees on Shakey's regarding the breach of the franchise agreement claim. Shakey's however, challenges the manner in which the court made its award, namely the failure to hold a full-scale evidentiary hearing and to discuss the Kerr factors. 12 38 The decision to hold an evidentiary hearing when making an attorney's fee award is a matter of procedure, and is therefore governed by federal law under the Erie doctrine. 13 We have previously affirmed attorney's fee awards supported by ample evidence without requiring an evidentiary hearing. See, e.g., Manhart v. City of Los Angeles, 652 F.2d 904, 908 (9th Cir.1981); Williams v. Alioto, 625 F.2d 845, 849 (9th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 1012, 101 S.Ct. 1723, 68 L.Ed.2d 213 (1981); Dennis v. Chang, 611 F.2d 1302, 1308 (9th Cir.1980). We reach the same result here, holding that (1) the record contains ample evidence to support the attorney's fee award and (2) the district court's ruling was sufficiently detailed to permit review. 39 The jury trial ended on August 5, 1980. On August 25, the Covalt defendants moved for an assessment of attorney's fees. They filed a memorandum and affidavit in support of the motion. On August 26, the court ordered a hearing for October 3 which was later postponed until October 6. On October 3, Shakey's filed an opposing memorandum. On October 6, the defendants submitted an additional affidavit. On that day, the district judge heard argument on the motion, although most of the argument was addressed to whether an award should be made rather than to the amount of the award. 40 This court has affirmed attorney fee awards on similar records. In Manhart, the court ruled that [t]he facts contained in the affidavits and briefs submitted by the parties are sufficiently detailed to provide a basis for the award. 652 F.2d at 908. In Dennis, the court ruled that four affidavits provided sufficient detail to support an award. 611 F.2d at 1308. The Covalt affidavits adequately itemized work performed. Moreover, the amount claimed was based on the fees actually paid by the Covalts for services rendered in the case. 41 The court's opinion contains adequate discussion to enable review. The court correctly noted that [i]t is impossible to divide precisely the time spent on any particular issue in this case because each claim overlapped. It also remarked that the award of $76,511.65 was reasonable in light of the complexity of the case and the skill of the attorneys. The court considered the time and labor required, the amount involved, the results obtained, the varying experience of the attorneys involved and customary fees. In doing so, the court adequately referred to the applicable Kerr factors. See Manhart, 652 F.2d at 908. The district court's ruling survives review under either the abuse of discretion standard, Manhart, 652 F.2d at 907, or the clearly erroneous standard, see Kabatoff, 627 F.2d at 210 (a determination of reasonable attorney's fees is a question of fact under Oregon law). 14