Kimberly Kubas sued 331B, LLC, d/b/a Rockwell Fitness, alleging employment retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After a jury returned a verdict in Kubas's favor, she moved for attorney's fees and costs, requesting $260,572.50 in fees and $11,139.09 in costs. The case was tried before a magistrate judge by consent of the parties. The magistrate judge granted the motion in part and denied it in part, awarding Kubas $91,320.00 in attorney's fees and $7,705.38 in costs. The defendant appealed, arguing that the magistrate judge erred in the calculation of the fee award.
The Fourth Circuit reviewed the magistrate judge's fee award for abuse of discretion. The court explained that the proper calculation of an attorney's fee award involves a three-step process. First, the court must determine the lodestar figure by multiplying the number of reasonable hours expended by a reasonable rate. To ascertain what is reasonable, the court applies the factors set forth in Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express Inc. Second, the court must subtract fees for hours spent on unsuccessful claims unrelated to successful ones. Third, the court should award some percentage of the remaining amount, depending on the degree of success enjoyed by the plaintiff. The appellant did not challenge the first two steps but contended the magistrate judge erred at step three by not further reducing the award. The court noted that there is no precise rule or formula to determine a plaintiff's success. In this case, the magistrate judge analogized the jury's damages award to that in McAfee v. Boczar and reduced the lodestar amount of $228,300.00 by 60 percent to $91,320.00. The appellate court found no error, emphasizing that the district court has close and intimate knowledge of the efforts expended and the value of the services rendered. The court stated, 'The essential goal in shifting fees (to either party) is to do rough justice, not to achieve auditing perfection, and the determination of fees should not result in a second major litigation.'
The decision affirms the reduced fee award, meaning the plaintiff receives $91,320.00 in attorney's fees rather than the requested $260,572.50. The ruling reinforces that appellate courts will not second-guess a trial court's fee calculation unless there is a clear abuse of discretion. It clarifies that the degree of success is a critical factor in the final fee determination, allowing trial courts to reduce awards significantly when the plaintiff's success is partial, without needing a precise formula.
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