13 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1089a
Attorney’s fees — Insurance — Personal injury protection — Appellate fees — Reasonable appellate attorney’s and paralegal fees, prejudgment interest and expert witness fees awarded
PREMIER OPEN MRI, LLC, on assignment from Deborah Braden, Plaintiff, vs. PROGRESSIVE EXPRESS INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant. County Court, 13th Judicial Circuit in and for Hillsborough County, Civil Division. Case No. 03-19164-CC, Division L. August 11, 2006. John N. Conrad, Judge. Counsel: William K. Saron, Saron & Associates, P.A., St. Petersburg, for Plaintiff. David B. Kampf, Ramey & Kampf, P.A., Tampa and Betsy E. Gallagher, Tampa, for Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR APPELLATE ATTORNEYS’ FEES
THIS CAUSE came before the Court on August 8, 2006, pursuant to Defendant’s Motion For Appellate Attorneys’ Fees. The Court having considered the Motion, reviewed the court file, considered the sworn testimony of Defendant’s counsel, Defendant’s expert witness, and Plaintiff’s counsel, and having heard argument from the parties, it is, therefore,
ORDERED as follows:
Reasonable Appellate Attorneys’ Fees
In determining the amount of reasonable attorney’s fees to award Defendant, this court is guided by the Florida Supreme Court decision in Florida Patient’s Compensation Fund v. Rowe, 472 So. 2d 1145 (Fla. 1985). In applying the factors set forth in Rowe to the specific facts in this case, the Court finds that the reasonable number of appellate attorney hours for Defendant, along with the reasonable hourly rate, are as follows:
a) 160.00 hours at $200.00 per hour = $32,000.00
b ) 42.90 hours at $150.00 per hour = $6,435.00
c) 13.80 hours at $50.00 per hour = $690.00 (paralegal time)
Therefore, based upon the lodestar calculation above, Defendant is entitled to reasonable appellate attorneys’ fees in the amount of $39,125.00. There was no evidence presented to the Court to warrant an enhancement or reduction in this lodestar amount. Accordingly, the total award for appellate attorneys’ fees, including paralegal fees, is $39,125.00. Additionally, Defendant is entitled to prejudgment interest from the date that entitlement to appellate attorneys’ fees was fixed by the Court pursuant to its Order dated February 22, 2006.
Expert Witness Fees
As to the issue regarding the award of Defendant’s expert witness fees, the Court finds such fees to be appropriate. In this case, Dorothy V. DiFiore, Esquire testified for Defendant concerning reasonable appellate attorneys’ fees in this case. The Court finds that the reasonable numbers of hours for Ms. DiFiore in preparing for and attending the fee hearing is 6.50 hours and that a reasonable hourly rate for her time is $200.00 per hour. Accordingly, Defendant is entitled to an award of $1,300.00 for reasonable expert witness fees.
FINAL JUDGMENT OF APPELLATE ATTORNEYS’ FEES AGAINST PLAINTIFF
Based upon the foregoing findings of facts and conclusions of law, the Court hereby ADJUDGES as follows:
Defendant, PROGRESSIVE EXPRESS INSURANCE COMPANY, shall have and recover against Plaintiff, PREMIER OPEN MRI, LLC, on assignment from Deborah Braden, the sum of $39,125.00 in reasonable appellate attorneys’ fees and paralegal fees, the sum of $1,639.33 in prejudgment interest, and the sum of $1,300.00 for reasonable expert witness fees, for a total of $42,064.33, that shall bear interest at the rate of 9% per annum, for all of which let execution issue.
This Court reserves jurisdiction as to any other matters that remain pending between the parties in this cause.
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