Opinion
CASE NO. 05-22599-CIV-JORDAN.
July 16, 2008
ORDER
The attorneys' symptomatic bickering in this case has turned what should have been a simple lawsuit into a protracted legal battle that has spanned for almost three years. The sole remaining dispute in this long saga is whether the sanctions imposed against Mr. Zidell should be offset against the amount of fees awarded to his client, Ms. Oliva. Magistrate Judge Torres recommended that I deny Mr. Zidell's request because the defendants owe fees to Ms. Oliva as the prevailing party under the FLSA, not to Mr. Zidell as her attorney [D.E. 160 at 17-20]. Mr. Zidell objects to this recommendation, arguing that his fee is entirely based on Ms. Oliva's fee award and that Ms. Oliva is not likely to collect her award from the defendants.
I adopt Magistrate Judge Torres' report and recommendation in its entirety and conclude that Mr. Zidell cannot circumvent the sanction personally imposed against him by setting it off against his client's fees/costs award. As Magistrate Judge Torres explained in his well-reasoned report and recommendation, no award has been issued in favor of Mr. Zidell in this case. Whether Mr. Zidell is entitled to Ms. Oliva's fee award is a contractual issue between Ms. Oliva and Mr. Zidell outside the jurisdictional scope of this action. It has no bearing on the payment of the sanctions imposed against Mr. Zidell. It might be different if the sanctions had been imposed against Ms. Oliva as well, but here the sanctions were imposed personally against Mr. Zidell as Ms. Oliva's counsel.
Finally, the possibility that Ms. Oliva may not be able to collect on her award of fees/costs has little legal significance in this case, if any. Presumably, Mr. Zidell considered with Ms. Oliva the possibility of a pyrrhic victory before they engaged in this prolonged dispute.
Accordingly, defendant A Little Havana Check Cash, Inc. is awarded a total of $7,201.30 against J.H. Zidell, Esq., for which let execution issue.
DONE and ORDERED in chambers in Miami, Florida,