Judge Slams 'Outdated Precedent,' Awards Big Payday To Plaintiff's Attorneys

1079630 HSBC settled a case with plaintiff David Rubin over claims it improperly denied disputed charges on a credit card for $250,000 plus attorney fees and costs. Trying to determine those attorney fees resulted in Eastern District of New York Judge Frederic Block railing against the district’s “blind adherence to outdated precedent” (and using poetry to make his point).

Block wrote that how the standard for attorney fees were derived was a “mystery” lacking a “well-articulated rationale.” Noting that trying to determine what a “reasonable client” would pay is “a lofty standard, but it is fantastical.” And he wondered, “How is anyone able to calculate what that mystical reasonable paying client was willing to pay?”

As reported by Law.com, Rubin’s attorneys request $728,998 in fees, with hourly rates for the attorneys of $1,185, $795, $760, and $445; $325 for a law clerk; and $125 for a paralegal. HSBC’s attorneys cited Zaslavsky v. Weltman, Weinberg & Reiss, which set the rates at $300-$450 per hour for partners, $200-$300 per hour for senior associates, $100-$200 per hour for junior associates, and $70-$100 per hour for paralegals. But those “rates have no currency” according to Block.

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Instead, Block noted “times have changed,” and settled on the following standard for fees: $450-$650 for partners, $300-$450 for senior associates, $150-$300 for junior associates, and $100-$150 for paralegals. Block’s new standard netted Rubin’s attorneys $550,506.50.

Read the full decision below.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].