Trustees of the Construction Industry and Laborers Health and Welfare Trust v. Redland Insurance Company

I. Background

On February 12, 2004, the district court granted the Joint Trustees’ motion for summary judgment under 29 U.S.C. § 1145 for unpaid benefit contributions on behalf of non- 10502 TRUSTEES OF THE CONSTR. IND. v. SUMMIT LANDSCAPE union employees. Because the Joint Trustees had prevailed on the merits of their claim, the court held that they were entitled to “reasonable attorney’s fees and costs” under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(2)(D).

The Joint Trustees initially requested attorney’s fees and costs totaling $51,907.04. However, the district court found that the Joint Trustees had failed to provide “sufficient infor- mation to determine whether the requested attorney’s fees and costs are reasonable” under the twelve-factor test set forth in Kerr v. Screen Extras Guild, Inc., 526 F.2d 67, 70 (9th Cir. 1975). The court therefore ordered the Joint Trustees to pro- vide “an affidavit including this information, as well as any additional information [they] deem germane to the Court’s determination of reasonableness under the Kerr factors[.]”

The Joint Trustees submitted new affidavits in support of their request for attorney’s fees and costs, now for a total amount of…