United States Ninth Circuit

An order awarding plaintiff in a putative class action alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) over $77,000 in merits fees, costs, and fees-on-fees, based in part on the district court's multiplying the number of hours worked by each of her three attorneys by an hourly rate of $200, is vacated and remanded where the district court erred: 1) by not identifying the relevant community and by not explaining what was the prevailing hourly rate in that community for similar services by lawyers of reasonably comparable skill, experience and reputation; and 2) by awarding a "flat award" of $500 for fees-on-fees.

Appellate Information

• Argued 03/13/2008
• Decided 04/22/2008
• Published 04/22/2008

Judges

• BRUNETTI, Circuit Judge:, Before:  STEPHEN REINHARDT, MELVIN BRUNETTI, and RAYMOND C. FISHER, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Richard M. Pearl, Law Offices of Richard M. Pearl, Berkeley, CA;  O. Randolph Bragg, Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates, Chicago, IL;  Irving L. Berg, The Berg Law Group, Corte Madera, CA;  and Richard J. Rubin, Santa Fe, NM, for the plaintiff-appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Mark E. Ellis and June D. Coleman, Ellis, Coleman, Poirier, La Voie & Steinheimer, LLP, Sacramento, CA, for the defendants-appellees.