Paul v. Reynaldo D. Graulty

886 F.2d 268 PAUL, JOHNSON, ALSTON & HUNT, Special Counsel to Plaintiff Reynaldo Graulty, Appellant, v. Reynaldo D. GRAULTY, Trustee, Trustee in Reorganization for WPMK Corporation, and Paradise Palms Vacation Club; James Lombardi, Appellees. No. 88-15364. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted June 27, 1989. Decided Sept. 27, 1989. As Amended Dec. 14, 1989. Paul Alston, Paul, Johnson, Alston & Hunt, Honolulu, Hawaii, for appellant. Robert J. Faris, Gelber & Gelber, Honolulu, Hawaii, for appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. Before TANG, REINHARDT and WIGGINS, Circuit Judges. WIGGINS, Circuit Judge: 1 The law firm of Paul, Johnson, Alston & Hunt ("PJAH") timely appeals an order of the district court awarding it roughly $855,000 less than the amount of fees it had requested as compensation for creating a "common fund." PJAH contends that the district court misconstrued the common fund doctrine so that the fee awarded is unreasonable. We agree, and therefore we vacate the district court's order and remand for another fee determination. 2 * This case evolves from the separate, yet related…