Opinion
No. 00 Civ. 6112 (LTS)(FM)
March 18, 2003
ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION FOR AWARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 37(A)(4):
By Amended Order dated March 12, 2002, the Court granted in substantial part Plaintiff's motion to compel Defendants to make certain discovery. In that order, the Court directed Plaintiff to file an affidavit itemizing any attorneys' fees and related expenses she seeks to recover in connection with the motion. Rule 27(a)(4)(A) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides in pertinent part that If [a motion to compel discovery] is granted or if the disclosure or requested
discovery is provided after the motion was filed, the court shall, after affording an opportunity to be heard, require the party . . . whose conduct necessitated the motion . . . to pay to the moving party the reasonable expenses incurred in making the motion, including attorneys' fees, unless the court finds that . . . the opposing party's nondisclosure, response or objection was substantially justified, or that other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust.
Plaintiff has submitted affidavits documenting legal fees incurred in the total amount of $7,030.00, together with an application and memoranda of law seeking an award of such amount. Plaintiff does not seek the award of any costs incurred in connection with the motion. The fee request is calculated at the $350.00 regular hourly rate of Plaintiff's principal counsel and a $200.00 hourly rate for her associate. The experience and qualifications of both attorneys are documented in the submission. Having reviewed thoroughly the submissions and opposition thereto, and having considered the underlying motion and the results achieved, the Court finds that the time for which compensation is sought was reasonably and appropriately expended in prosecution of the motion and that the hourly rates at which compensation is sought are reasonable for attorneys of comparable experience and expertise. The court further finds no basis for concluding that the discovery objections involved were substantially justified or that other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust. Accordingly, Plaintiff's application is granted and Defendants shall, jointly and severally, pay to Plaintiff's attorneys, Koob Magoolaghan, counsel fees in the sum of $7,030.00, within twenty days from the date of this Order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.