Opinion ID: 492411
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: timeliness of the motions for attorneys' fees

Text: 16 The school board defendants filed their motion almost four months after the district judge's findings of fact and conclusions of law and almost three months after the notice of appeal. The motion followed the dismissal of the appeal by less than two weeks. The other defendants filed their motion little more than two months later. There is no local rule in the Northern District of Ohio limiting the time period for the filing of a motion for attorneys' fees. The parties agree that instead of a strict time measure, the test is one of reasonableness. They dispute the proper milestone for measuring the period and whether the motions here were filed within a reasonable time. 17 The district judge considered the timeliness issue in granting the motions, relying primarily on White v. New Hampshire Dep't of Employment Sec., 455 U.S. 445, 102 S.Ct. 1162, 71 L.Ed.2d 325 (1982). There, the Supreme Court upheld an award of attorney's fees under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1988 where the motion for attorney's fees was filed four-and-one-half months after the entry of final judgment. The Supreme Court held that the entertainment of such a motion is within the discretion of the district court, which should consider unfair surprise or prejudice to the affected party and the policy of avoiding piecemeal appeals. 455 U.S. at 454, 102 S.Ct. at 1167. 18 Ruben argues that the district judge lacked jurisdiction to consider the attorneys' fee motions after Rathbun's appeal was dismissed, relying primarily on Overnite Transp. Co. v. Chicago Indus. Tire Co., 697 F.2d 789 (7th Cir.1983). There, a motion for attorneys' fees under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1927 filed eight months after dismissal and two months after affirmance was held to be untimely. The Overnite court did not, however, overrule or limit two earlier cases requiring the filing of such a motion only within a reasonable time and, if there is an appeal on the merits, before or during the pendency of the appeal. Loctite Corp. v. Fel-Pro, Inc., 667 F.2d 577 (7th Cir.1981); Terket v. Lund, 623 F.2d 29 (7th Cir.1980). 19 The district judge properly rejected Ruben's reliance on Overnite. Unlike the appeal in Overnite, the appeal here was pending for only a brief time before it was dismissed due to inaction by Rathbun and her attorneys. Cf. In re Itel Sec. Litig., 791 F.2d 672 (9th Cir.1986) (attorney cannot destroy district court's jurisdiction to impose sanctions by withdrawing from case before appeal perfected or while appeal pending), cert. denied sub nom. Bader v. Itel Corp., --- U.S. ----, 107 S.Ct. 880, 93 L.Ed.2d 834 (1987). The district judge noted that the attorneys' fee motions should not have surprised Rathbun and her attorneys in light of the course of the discovery and trial proceedings. Finally, finding that the motions here were timely filed does not result in piecemeal appeals, since this is the only appeal perfected in this case. We are not asked to reconstruct a case previously reviewed in detail. There is no prejudice to Rathbun and Ruben because the litigation is not being renewed after an appeal on the merits that could have been consolidated with the appeals of the sanctions. See Obin v. Dist. No. 9 of Intern. Ass'n of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, 651 F.2d 574, 583-84 (8th Cir.1981). Ruben's claimed failure to be apprised of the status of the appeal on the merits must be disregarded as his failure to be aware of the actions of Lester, his co-counsel. See Shea v. Donohoe Constr. Co., Inc., 795 F.2d 1071, 1074 n. 3 (D.C.Cir.1986). 20 We also find support for holding the motions were timely filed in Fulps v. City of Springfield, Tenn., 715 F.2d 1088 (6th Cir.1983). Discussing both White and Obin, there we allowed a party to seek attorneys' fees eight months after the entry of judgment by the district court if the delay did not prejudice the opposing party, thus requiring an equitable bar on the ground of laches. Id. at 1095-96. While Ruben argues that he was prejudiced, the delay here was shorter than that allowed in Fulps, and Ruben does not show that he changed his position or detrimentally relied upon the delay in the filing of the motions. 21 Ruben also argues that White is inapplicable because the only statutory basis for an award of attorneys' fees against him is section 1927, whereas section 1988 was the relevant statute in White. We reject this argument. Ruben should have known that defendants, as the prevailing parties, could seek recovery of their attorneys' fees under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e-5(k), the language of which parallels section 1988 and therefore falls within the White rationale. To require a defendant to seek attorneys' fees from an attorney immediately after judgment, but allow additional time under White to seek recovery of attorneys' fees from a plaintiff, would only exacerbate the problem of piecemeal appeals. 22 As the Supreme Court noted in White, 455 U.S. at 454 & n. 16 and 456, 102 S.Ct. at 1167 & n. 16 and 1168 (Blackmun, J., concurring), the issue of timeliness of a motion for attorneys' fees can be avoided by the adoption of a local rule establishing a timeliness standard. We have previously encouraged the adoption of such local rules. See Fulps, supra, 715 F.2d at 1096. See Local Rule 17(n) of the Eastern District of Michigan.