Summary
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted Sunstream Corporation, Inc.’s unopposed motion for attorney’s fees after compelling Stefan Petrov and Boating World Pro Shop, LLC, to respond to discovery requests. Applying Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(a)(5)(A) and the lodestar approach, the court awarded $2,313.55 in attorney’s fees and computerized legal research expenses.
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Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Sunstream was entitled to an award of reasonable attorney's fees and expenses under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(a)(5)(A) after prevailing on its motion to compel.
- Whether the requested $2,313.55 in attorney's fees and expenses was reasonable under the lodestar approach.
Holdings
- Sunstream was entitled to fee shifting under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(a)(5)(A), because the court had granted its motion to compel and had already determined that an award of reasonable fees was appropriate.
- The requested hourly rates and hours were reasonable under the lodestar approach, and Sunstream was awarded $2,313.55, consisting of $2,167.50 in attorney's fees and $146.05 in computerized legal-research expenses.
Key quotations
“The starting point in fashioning an award of attorney’s fees is to multiply the number of hours reasonably expended by a reasonable hourly rate.” (at 2)
“Accordingly, Sunstream’s motion for attorney’s fees (Doc. 45) is GRANTED. The court orders fee shifting under Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(5)(A), in the amount of $2,313.55! against the defendants.” (at 4)
Factual background
The court had previously compelled Stefan Petrov and Boating World Pro Shop, LLC to respond to Sunstream's discovery requests after defendants failed to respond to the motion to compel. The prior order authorized an award of reasonable fees and expenses incurred in bringing the motion and directed the parties to confer regarding the amount. Defendants did not respond to Sunstream's attempts to confer or to the subsequent fee motion. Sunstream supported its request with counsel declarations and billing records seeking $2,167.50 in attorney's fees and $146.05 in computerized legal-research expenses.
Procedural history
Sunstream moved to compel defendants to respond to discovery requests. After defendants failed to respond to the motion to compel, the court granted it and awarded Sunstream reasonable attorney's fees and expenses under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(a)(5)(A). The court then ordered the parties to confer regarding the amount, but defendants failed to respond to Sunstream's attempts to confer. Sunstream moved for $2,313.55 in fees and expenses, and the court granted the motion.