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Home My WebLink AboutR-95-0873i :. } i U-95-969 12/6/95 RESOLUTION NO . y 5 — 873 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PAYMENT OF $102,500.00 TO JORGE A. DUARTE, ESQ. AND DANIEL H. FORMAN, ESQ., IN FULL SETTLEMENT OF ANY AND ALL CLAIMS FOR ATTORNEYS' FEES AND COSTS INCURRED IN THE CASE OF LEONE AND PEREZ V. THE CITY OF MIAMI, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA, MIAMI DIVISION, CASE NO. 92-2396-CIV-DAVIS/GARBER; ALLOCATING FUNDS THEREFOR FROM THE CITY OF MIAMI SELF-INSURANCE AND INSURANCE TRUST FUND, INDEX CODE NO. 620101-661; FURTHER, AUTHORIZING THE CITY ATTORNEY TO FILE AN OFFER OF JUDGMENT TO MICHAEL F. LANHAM, ESQ. IN THE ABOVE STYLED CASE, WITHOUT ANY ADMISSION OF LIABILITY, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $75,000.00, AND IF ACCEPTED, AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO PAY THE RESULTING JUDGMENT WITH FUNDS TO BE PROVIDED FROM THE CITY OF MIAMI SELF- INSURANCE AND INSURANCE TRUST FUND, INDEX CODE NO. 620103-661. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE FLORIDA: CITY OF MIAMI, Section 1. The payment of $102,500.00 to Jorge A. Duarte, Esq. and Daniel H. Forman, Esq., in full settlement of any and all claims for attorneys' fees and costs incurred in the case of Leone and Perez v. the City of Miami, United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, Miami Division, Case No. 92-2396-CIV-DAVIS/GABBER, is hereby authorized, with funds therefor hereby allocated from the City of Miami Self - Insurance and Insurance Trust Fund, Index Code No. 620103-661. :CITY COMICISSION MEETING OF DEC 071995 Resolution No. �! Report and Recommendation. Section 2. The City Attorney is hereby authorized to file an Offer of Judgment pursuant to federal law, without the admission of liability, directed to Michael F. Lanham, Esq. in the hereinabove styled case, in an amount not to exceed $75,000.00. Section 3. Should the offer to Michael A. Lanham be accepted, the Director of Finance is hereby authorized to pay the resulting judgment in a sum not to exceed $75,000.00, with said funds to be provided from the City of Miami Self -Insurance and Insurance Trust Fund, Index Code No. 620101-661. Section 4. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 7th day of December 1995. i STLYPHEN P. CLK.RK, MAYOR ATTE T: WALT FOEMAN CITY CLERK SELF-INSURANCE TRUST FUND REVIEW: CHI F FRANK K. ROLLASON, DIRECTOR DIVISION OF RISK MANAGEMENT 95- 873 CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM 36 Honorable Mayor and Members DATE November 28, 1995 FILE J-95-969 of the City Commission SuaiECT City Commission Agenda Leone & Perez v. City of Miami and University of Miami ` Rr,M A. ,Qul J01[FCS, REFERENCES: Case No.: 92-2396-CIV-DAVIS City Attorney ENCLOSURES. Claim No.: Ol l/POL-93-005 t, ' Attached please find a proposed Resolution authorizing payment of attorneys fees to Jorge Duarte, Esquire, and Daniel Forman, Esquire, and authorizing an offer of judgment to Michael Lanham, Esquire, regarding the above lawsuit. Plaintiffs, mobility impaired season ticket holders of University of Miami football games, commenced this action on October 15, 1992 against the City of Miami and the University of Miami, alleging various violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act ("ADA") with respect to the Orange Bowl. Plaintiffs' lawsuit sought preliminary and permanent injunctive relief to remove physical barriers within the Orange Bowl. Plaintiffs sought to hold the City, the owner and operator of the Orange Bowl, responsible for these claimed violations. In addition, Plaintiffs also contended that the University was a "lessee" of the Orange Bowl and was responsible under the ADA to make the changes to the physical structure of the Orange Bowl that Plaintiffs believed were mandated by the ADA. Plaintiffs filed this action in federal court and it was assigned to U.S. District Judge Edward Davis and Magistrate Judge Barry Garber. On August 5, 1993, Magistrate Judge Garber referred this case to mediation before the Honorable Edward S. Klein. After numerous mediation sessions, the parties entered into a settlement agreement on or about March -April, 1995. Among other things, the City agreed to add additional wheelchair seating, accessible parking lots, additional concessions stands, restrooms and accessible ramps throughout the stadium. It should be noted that many of these improvements were done while mediation was ongoing, mostly in response to demands by Dade County. On May 9, 1995, the parties filed a joint motion for approval of settlement and dismissal of the action pursuant to Rule 41(a)(2), Fed.R.Civ.P. On May 11, 1995, the Court entered an Agreed Order of Dismissal approving and incorporating by reference the terms of the parties' settlement agreement; retaining jurisdiction to enforce the terms and conditions of the Settlement Agreement as well as to consider applications for costs, attorneys' fees and such other further relief at law or in equity to which plaintiffs or defendants may be entitled, and dismissing with prejudice the instant case. 95- 873 and Men. .rs November 28, 1995 O >' . .fit-Ccnim-ssion Page 2, On or about June 12, 1995, Plaintiffs filed an Application for Award of Attorneys Fees a^d ►? pimbursernent of Litigation Expenses, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit "A". Plaintiffs are stv king 'a total of ,$468,429.00, which includes attorneys fees and costs, against both the University and the City. The City filed a response in opposition to this application claiming that Plaintiffs are not "prevailing parties for purposes of claiming attorneys fees since most, if not all, of the improvements at the Orange Bowl were made in response to demands by Dade County. However, Magistrate Garber has ruled, via a Report and Recommendation, that there was a significant causal connection between Plaintiffs' lawsuit and the results obtained. Since Plaintiffs are prevailing parties, the ADA allows them to seek attorney's fees and costs. Plaintiffs' attorney Jorge Duarte has agreed to accept $95,000.00, inclusive of costs, and Daniel'Foreman has agreed to accept $7,500.00, inclusive of costs, as a full and complete settlement of their claims for attorneys fees and costs against the City of Miami only (Plaintiffs are still seeking additional fees against the University). We have been unable to agree on a settlement figure with Mr. Lanham. However, we believe that a fee of $75,000.00 is a fair offer and we are seeking. approval. via this resolution, to file an offer of judgment in this amount (the federal rules provide that if the judgment finally obtained by Mr. Lanham is not more favorable than this offer, then the City would-be entitled to seek its costs incurred after the offer is made). Payment of these fees ' •is subject to a final Order, by Judge Davis adopting Magistrate Garber's Report and Recommendation. ` Based upon prevailing rates in the community, the amount of time spent litigating this case (approximately 3 years), the experience of Plaintiffs' attorneys, and the fact that the law allows recovery of attorneys fees and costs, it is the position of this Officeand the City Manager, that this settlement is reasonable and in the best interest of the City. Therefore, it is recommended that this settlement be approved. AQJ/CFK/pb/W013 Attachment UNITSD -STATES DISTRICT COURT �OUT,HERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA LJ CHRIS LEONL and CASE M, ,92-2396-CIV-DAVIS/GAR®ER R08ERTO PERIEZ, Plaintiffs, vs THE CITY OF MIAMI and THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, 1 Defendants. i / PLAINTIFFS' APPLICATION FOR AWARD OF ATTORNEY'S FEES AND REIMBURSEMENT OF LITICZATION EXPENSES Plaintiffs, CHRIS LEONE and ROBERTO PEREZ, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 12205 hereby move this Court for an award of attorney's fees and litigation expenses as ::fol lows.-' i i 1. Attorneys' Fges i Hours Rate Per Hour Award Daniel H. Forman, Esq. 63.75 $250 $ 15,937.50 Michael L. Lanham, Esq. 788.5 $170.4225. $ 143,986.25 Jorge A. Duarte, Esq. 559.3 $250. TOTAL LODESTAR 2. Computation of the Fee AWard TOTAL LODESTAR: REQUESTED ENHANCEMENT: x 1.50 multiplier TOTAL ATTORNEY'S FEES: $ 139,825.00 S 299.748.75 $ 299,748.75 S 449.623.13 i �5- 873 Plaintiffs' cour ,-ei seek reimbursement for the expenses as listed on the attached Affidavits. As stated, Plaintiffs' counsel requests the following fees and expense award for their work: A. Fees $ 449,623.13 B. Litigation Expenses Michael L. Lanham $ 10,509.09 Jorge A. Duarte $ 8,297.28 Total Fees and Expenses J61,429.50 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing was mailed this 12th day of June, 1995 to: A. Quinn Jones, 111, City Attorney, Christopher F. Kurtz, Assistant City Attorney, Attorneys for the City of Miami, Dupont Plaza Center, Suite 300, 300 Biscayne Boulevard Way, Miami, Florida 33131, and Mershon, ( Sawyer, et al, William J. Dunaj, Esquire, Attorneys for the University of Miami, 4500 First Union Financial Center, 200 South Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, Florida 33131. LAW OFFICES OF JORGE A. DUARTE 44 West Fiagler Street, Suite 2400 Miami, Florida 33130-1856 Telephone: (305) 358-2400 JORG UARTE, ESQ. FLORI A R NO.: 229016 MICHAEL L. LANHAM, ESQ. DANIEL H. FORMAN, ESQ. 19 West Flagier'Street, Suite 1102 1401 Brickell Avenue, Suite 800 Miami, Florida 33130 Miami, Florida 33131 Telephone: (305) 358-7646 Telephone: (305) 577-8888 IY 95- 813