Cabrales

Defendants-appellants County of Los An-geles and Ronald Black appeal from summary judgment and denial of their motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV). Josefina Cabrales, the mother of Sergio Alvarez Cabrales (decedent), brought suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for the death of her son while he was a pretrial detainee in Los Angeles County jail under the command of appellant Ronald Black. The plaintiff claimed that the County and its employees at the jail were deliberately indifferent to her son’s medical needs and they were liable in damages for his suicide. The County and Black filed a motion for summary judgment. It was denied. The case went to jury trial and a verdict was returned for the plaintiff. The court entered judgment on the verdict in the amount of $150,000 against the County and $7,500 against Black. The appellants moved for a JNOV. It too was denied.

The plaintiff/cross-appellant appeals from an award of attorneys’ fees in the case. After the verdict, the plaintiff moved for an award of attorneys’ fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988 . The trial court determined the “lodestar” amount to be $200,500, but reduced that figure by 25% to $152,284.75 because of…