Opinion
Case No. 08-CV-11193.
March 24, 2009
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS' AMENDED MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS' FEES
Pending before the court is Plaintiffs' "Amended Motion for Attorneys' Fees and Costs." Plaintiffs' filed their complaint on March 19, 2008, seeking, under Section 515 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Acv of 1974 ("ERISA"), to have Defendants provide records for auditing and to have Defendants pay the amounts due, if any, revealed through the audit. (Compl. at 3.) Defendants did not file an answer to the complaint after valid service and Plaintiffs moved for an entry of default judgment on January 26, 2009. The court held a default judgment hearing on February 12, 2009 and granted Plaintiffs' motion against all Defendants.
The court issued a judgment, which included that "Defendants shall pay to plaintiffs all costs, interest, and attorneys' fees incurred in bringing and prosecuting this present action." (2/13/09 Judgement at 2.) Indeed, in the ERISA context, 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(2) requires that when "a judgment in favor of the plan is awarded, the court shall award . . . reasonable attorney's fees and costs of the action, to be paid by the defendant." 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(2)(D). The court has reviewed Plaintiffs' accounting of attorney's fees and costs, totaling $3586.00, and finds them to be reasonable.
Calculated at the rate of $150.00 per hour for 8.1 hours of work, $190.00 per hour for 7.6 hours of work, and $927.00 in costs.
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiffs' "Amended Motion for Attorneys' Fees and Costs" [Dkt. # 23] is GRANTED.