Alliance for the Disabled v. Renaissance Enterprises, Inc., Docket No. A-1456-08T2 (App. Div. July 30, 2010)

Counsel fee award to successful claimant requires evaluation of the time spent on individual tasks, not just the aggregate time spent on the overall case.

After 10 years of protracted litigation and a verdict in their favor concerning the failure of the defendant to build condominium units that complied with the state's Barrier Free Subcode, the plaintiff sought an award of attorney's fees. In support of the fee request, the plaintiffs sought a 100% enhancement on the lodestar. They also argued that the court's analysis should be limited to the aggregate time spent on the case and should not involve an analysis of the time spent on any particular task. In rejecting this contention, the Appellate Division held that the court is required to evaluate the time spent on all individual aspects of the litigation and that excessive time should be reduced or eliminated even if the aggregate time for the litigation was reasonable. Further, the court concluded that fee enhancement was not mandatory and the Trial Judge's decision to award no enhancement was within the court's discretion.

Case Law Alert - 4th Qtr 2010