United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR ATTORNEY
FEES (Doc. 112) and PLAINTIFF'S SUPPLEMENTAL MOTION FOR
ATTORNEY FEES (Doc. 145)
GEORGE
CARAM STEEH UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
In this
retaliatory discharge action, Plaintiff Natalie Reeser
alleged she was terminated in retaliation for asserting her
right to a paid lunch hour in violation of the Fair Labor
Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. §
215(a)(3), and the Whistleblower Protection Act
(“WPA”), Mich. Comp. Laws §15.362. Following
a seven day trial, the jury rendered a no cause verdict on
her FLSA claim, but awarded Reeser $3, 200 in economic
damages on her WPA claim. Reeser then filed a motion for
attorney fees in the amount of $315, 133.[1] The court granted
the motion but awarded only $10, 000 based on the meager
nature of Reeser's recovery at trial. Reeser appealed,
and the Sixth Circuit ruled that this court did not follow
the correct procedure for determining fees and remanded the
matter to this court for reconsideration in light of the
methodology outlined in Pirgu v. United Serv. Auto.
Ass'n, 499 Mich. 269 (2016). In addition, Reeser now
seeks attorney fees for the time expended on her motion for
attorney fees, response to Defendant Henry Ford Health
System's (“Henry Ford”) renewed motion for
judgment and motion for post-judgment sanctions, and her
appeal. The court addresses both motions below.
I.
Background
Reeser
seeks attorney fees for the work of four attorneys from the
law firm of Miller Cohen - two trial attorneys, Keith Flynn
and Adam Graham, a senior partner, Richard Mack, and a former
associate, Ada Verloren. In total, Reeser claims 1, 189.70
hours of attorney time broken down as follows: Flynn, 628.60
hours at $275.00 per hour for a total of $172, 865; Graham,
460.65 hours at $250.00 per hour for a total of $115, 162.50;
Verloren, 84.60 hours at $275 per hour for a total of $23,
265; and Mack, 15.85 hours at $300.00 per hour for a total of
$4, 755. In support of her motion, Reeser's attorneys
have submitted over 55 pages of billing records consisting of
approximately 550 entries.
In her
supplemental motion for attorney fees, Reeser seeks an
additional $45, 260 in fees for 173.75 hours billed by Graham
and Flynn on plaintiff's motion for attorney fees and
reply brief, and time spent on appeal. The amount requested
is based on Flynn billing a total of 75.4 hours worked
comprised of 72.9 hours billed at $275.00 per hour, and 2.5
hours billed at $250.00 on December 16, 2016 and February 28,
2017, [2] for a total amount billed of $20, 672.50.
Graham billed at the $250 hourly rate for 98.35 hours worked
for a total of $24, 587.50. In support of her supplemental
motion, Reeser's attorneys have submitted ten pages of
billing records consisting of nearly one hundred entries.
II.
Standard of Law
The
first step in determining an award of attorney fees is to
determine the reasonable hourly rate customarily charged in
the locality for similar services. Pirgu, 499 Mich.
at 281. The second step is multiplying “that rate by
the reasonable number of hours expended in the case to arrive
at a baseline figure.” Id. Once the court
arrives at this figure, referred to as the lodestar amount,
the court considers the non-exhaustive list of eight factors
identified by the Michigan Supreme Court in Pirgu:
(1) the experience, reputation, and ability of the lawyer or
lawyers performing the services,
(2) the difficulty of the case, i.e., the novelty and
difficulty of the questions involved, and the skill requisite
to perform the legal service properly,
(3) the amount in question and the results obtained,
(4) the expenses incurred,
(5) the nature and length of the professional relationship
with the client,
(6) the likelihood, if apparent to the client, that
acceptance of the particular employment will preclude other
employment by the lawyer,
(7) the time limitations imposed by the client or by the
circumstances, and
(8) whether the fee is fixed or contingent.
Id. at 282.
III.
Analysis
The WPA
provides the court with discretion to award “reasonable
attorney fees . . . if the court determines that the award is
appropriate.” Mich. Comp. Laws § 15.364. In
response to Reeser's original motion for attorney fees,
Henry Ford argues that this court should exercise its
discretion and deny any award of attorney fees based on the
fact that Reeser recovered less at trial than Henry Ford
offered her to settle the case. The ...