Depaoli v. Vacation Sales Associates, 2007 U.S.App. LEXIS 13722 (June 12)
After a jury awarded $7.7 million for her employment discrimination claim, plaintiff received an attorney’s fees award from the trial court of roughly $240,000 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 2000e-3(a). On appeal, the Fourth Circuit modified the award. Plaintiff’s counsel had originally claimed an hourly rate of $225, based on what he charged his client, but subsequently sought to be compensated at the hourly “market rate” of over $300. The trial court approved that request, but the court of appeals found that to be error. Plaintiff produced no evidence of market rate and thus the only relevant evidence was what the attorney himself charged. The Court observed that “the market rate should be determined by evidence of what attorneys earn from paying clients for similar services in similar circumstances, which, of course, may include evidence of what the plaintiff’s attorney actually charged the client.”
