UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA. Plaintiffs, AFFIDAVIT OF KIM L. PERRON

Transcription

1 CASE 0:09-cv DWF-LIB Document 245 Filed 01/20/12 Page 1 of 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc., a Missouri non-profit entity, and Stephen K. House, a natural person, Court File No.: 09-CV-1116 (DWF/LIB) vs. Plaintiffs, AFFIDAVIT OF KIM L. PERRON Mark Dunaski, Ken Urquhart, Christopher Norton, James Ullmer, Doug Thooft And John Doe 1, Personally, Individually, and in their Official Capacities, Defendants. STATE OF MINNESOTA ) ) ss. COUNTY OF RAMSEY ) KIM L. PERRON, being first duly sworn, deposes and states as follows: 1. I am a Paralegal for the Minnesota Attorney General s Office and assisted in the representation of Defendants in the above-entitled matter. Accordingly, I am familiar with the files, records and proceedings in this matter. 2. I have reviewed Plaintiffs Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs Motion for Award of Attorney Fees and Expenses and Exhibits B-D attached to the Affidavit of Paul D. Cullen, Sr. in support of Plaintiffs motion for Attorney Fees And Expenses. I have also reviewed bills that Plaintiffs submitted on April 11, 2011 in support of their

2 CASE 0:09-cv DWF-LIB Document 245 Filed 01/20/12 Page 2 of 5 motion for attorney fees in an unrelated case, Port Drivers Federation 18, Inc. v. All Saints, No , 2011 WL (D.N.J. Aug. 16, 2011) (Doc. 79-4). 3. Mr. Cullen, Sr. states: In order to assist the Court in evaluating the reasonableness of the time expended by attorneys and paralegals of The Cullen Law Firm, PLLC, I have organized the firm s time records by principal categories and subcategories of activities. P. Cullen, Sr., Decl. 4 (Doc. No. 238). However, the way the Cullen firm has provided its timekeeping seriously impedes Defendants ability and the Court s ability to determine number of hours spent on any given day or any given task, thus making it extremely difficult to accurately audit the records. For example, to attempt to accurately determine how much time is being charged for any given task, one would have to review several categories throughout the 257 page billing document plaintiffs provide, which could contain applicable billings (e.g., Summation, Legal Research, Discovery, etc.). In addition to dividing the time between several categories, the time is again divided under different sub-categories and then again divided by the name of the attorney or paralegal who entered the time. 4. Plaintiffs had the ability to provide their billing statements in a more understandable and auditable manner. In bills the Cullen firm submitted on April 11, 2011 in support of its motion for attorney fees in Port Drivers, the bills were organized by date. P. Cullen, Sr.,, Aff., (Aug. 16, 2011) (D.N.J.) (Doc. No. 79-4). Accordingly, it was easy to identify what was done on any given date. For example, in Port Drivers, one could quickly see what any attorney in the Cullen Firm did on April 21, 2009 as the hours were not dispersed throughout the document by multiple labels, but rather 2

3 CASE 0:09-cv DWF-LIB Document 245 Filed 01/20/12 Page 3 of 5 chronologically by date. Paul Cullen, Sr. had three entries for a total of 3.5 hours in that case. On April 21, 2001, Mr. Cullen, Sr. had 11 separate entries in the OOIDA matter totaling hours on that same day for a total of hours billed between the two cases on the same day. Perron Ex. A. 5. Plaintiff s billings appear duplicative. In the example above, Paul Cullen, Sr. indicates that he has spent hours drafting and revising the OOIDA Complaint a month before it was sued out, while at the same time spending an additional 3.5 hours on the Port Drivers case. In addition to the dubious billing entries, on the same day there are two entries for one hour communications with Plaintiff House and three separate entries for communicating with Jay Christy about an OOS order. In addition to the seemingly duplicate entries on April 21, 2009 in the OOIDA case, on that same day in the Port Drivers case Paul Cullen, Sr. had two, 1.5 hour entries for communicating with Client Jose Lande. Perron Ex. A. 6. Plaintiffs claim to have spent hours drafting the 26 page Complaint served mid-may Even assuming that is accurate, the attorneys spent 7 hours per page of the Complaint. However, after a relentless review of the billing records, it was revealed that Plaintiffs spent well over 400 hours on this case before Defendant even knew a lawsuit existed. Over 230 hours were listed as legal research, which arguably should be attributed to drafting the Complaint. That means plaintiff spent over 400 hours drafting the Complaint, or 15.8 hours per page. Perron Ex. B. 7. The Cullen firm s billings contained duplicative and excessive hours. As an example, the Cullen firm defended the depositions of House, Johnston and Ullmer in 3

4 CASE 0:09-cv DWF-LIB Document 245 Filed 01/20/12 Page 4 of 5 St. Paul from Dec. 16 through Dec. 18, 2009, lasting a total of approximately 20 hours from start to finish over the three days. The Cullen firm charged the following: December 16, hours deposition related (plus 6 hours unrelated) December 17, hours deposition related (plus 6.6 hours unrelated) December 18, hours deposition related (plus 7.4 hours unrelated) The Cullen firm total charges for the depositions is $25, This amount does include the $10, charged for 23.9 hours on December 15th claimed to be spent by the firm preparing for and traveling to the depositions. The deposition on December 18th ended around noon and plaintiff s counsel indicated they planned on taking an early flight home due to a reported snow storm. Despite their limited stay, they claim to have spent $1, on meals. Perron Ex. C. 9. Plaintiff s expenses appeared often duplicative, vague or on their face unreasonable. For example, on November 24, 2009 Paul Cullen, Sr. seeks $2, for one round-trip plane ticket to Minnesota. In addition, on most trips more than one member of the Cullen firm flew to Minnesota. On February 28, 2011 two round trip tickets were purchased at $1, each on March 10, 2011 two round trip tickets were purchased at $1, each. On July 14, 2011 two round trip tickets were purchased at $1, each. On May 7, 2009 two tickets to Minneapolis were purchased for future use at $ and $ respectively. The billing record does not indicate when, if ever the tickets were used as part of this case. On December 7, 2009 there are two entries each for Hotel in Minnesota for Daniel Cohen and Paul Cullen, Jr. totaling $2,

5 CASE 0:09-cv DWF-LIB Document 245 Filed 01/20/12 Page 5 of 5 In addition, $1, was charged for meals on December 7, The Cullen firm charged $3, for meals during the six day trial of this matter in Minnesota. A numerous amount of Plaintiff s expenses are to generic to determine whether they relate to this case or a taxable expense, for example, Trial supplies, Summation Consulting Services, Postage cost, Long distance charges, Westlaw research, Pacer service research. Decl., P. Cullen, Sr., Exh. F (Doc. No ). FURTHER YOUR AFFIANT SAITH NOT. Kim Perron s/kim Perron Subscribed and sworn to before me this 20th day of January, s/sharon L. Owen Notary Public AG: # v15 5

6 CASE 0:09-cv DWF-LIB Document Filed 01/20/12 Page 1 of 1 4/21/09 Hours billed Paul Cullen, Sr. 0.6 Complaint - Draft Complaint Communicate with Jay Christy about OOS order 2 Complaint - Draft Complaint Communicate with Jay Christy about OOS order 0.5 Complaint - Draft Complaint Communicate with Jay Christy re: problems as a potential plaintiff 1.25 Complaint - Draft Complaint draft and revise complaint 0.2 Complaint - Draft Complaint Draft and revise letter to Thurman 1 Complaint - Draft Complaint communicate with plaintiff House about status as plaintiff 1 Complaint - Draft Complaint communicate with client: Interview House for allegations for complaint 6 Complaint - Draft Complaint Draft and revise complaint for OOIDA update. Thurman, Christy and House interplay of allegations and substitute of plaintiff drivers 2.25 Complaint - Draft Complaint draft and revise complaint Christy allegations 2 Complaint - Draft Complaint draft and revise complaint 0.25 Complaint - Draft Complaint communicate with client: letter to Thurman 3.5 Port Drivers Federation 18, Inc. v. All Saints, No , 2011 WL (D.N.J. Aug. 16, 2011) (Doc. 79-4): 1.5 hours interview Jose Lande for reply brief 1.5 hours communicate with client (Jose Lande) regarding reply brief.5 hours Facts related to status of ASE as private carrier Total Hours: Perron Exhibit A

7 CASE 0:09-cv DWF-LIB Document Filed 01/20/12 Page 1 of 1 Draft Complaint COMPLAINT WAS SERVED MAY 13, 2009 Analyze Case/Defenses Legal Research Plaintiff s Discovery (planning and procedural issues) Plaintiff s Discovery (legal Research)* Fact Investigation FOIA Request DATE C., JR C., SR. D. Cohen J. Meyer A. Goins MARCH 2009: 1.3 hrs 0 APRIL 2009: 37 hrs 79.4 hrs hrs MAY hrs hrs * JUNE hrs. 6.7 hrs * Perron Exhibit B

8 CASE 0:09-cv DWF-LIB Document Filed 01/20/12 Page 1 of 3 PLAINTIFFS DISCOVERY Review Document. Produced 12/15/2009 Cullen Jr. Paul Attorney $3, Complete review of depositions for testimony applicable to UlImer depositions. PLAINTIFFS DISCOVERY Depositions 12/15/2009 Cullen Jr. Paul Attorney $1,95750 Continue drafting letter outlining in detail Defendants continued discovery deficiencies. PLAINTIFFS DISCOVERY Depositions 12/15/2009 Arias, Karma C Paralegal $ Prepare additional exhibits for upcoming depositions in St. Paul, MN; prepare correspondence for Albert T. Goins re the same. DEFENDANTS DISCOVERY Depositions 12/15/2009 Cullen Sr. Paul Attorney $ Preparation for depositions of House and Johnston. DEFENDANTS DISCOVERY Depositions 12/15/2009 Cullen Sr, Paul Attorney $2,30000 Travel to depositions in St. Paul, MN. DEFENDANTS DISCOVERY Depositions 12/15/2009 Claiborne, Ramona Paralegal $ Summation: code documents, download reports, run searches and queries re: preparation for depositions. DEFENDANTS DISCOVERY Depositions 12/15/2009 Claiborne, Ramona Paralegal $ Summation: code documents ( s) download reports. PLAINTIFFS DISCOVERY Depositions 12/16/2009 Cohen, Daniel Attorney $1,98000 Conduct Ullmer deposition PLAINTIFFS DISCOVERY Depositions 12/16/2009 Cullen Jr. Paul Attorney $ Locate Minnesota Statewide Payables List and forward to Dan Cohen taking depositions in St. Paul. PLAINTIFFS DISCOVERY Depositions 12/16/2009 Cullen Sr. Paul Attorney $3,45000 Attend UlImer s deposition. PLAINTIFFS DISCOVERY Motion to Compel Discovery 12/16/2009 Cullen Jr. Paul Attorney $1,08750 Continue drafting letter outlining in detail Defendants continued discovery deficiencies. PLAINTIFFS DISCOVERY Motion to Compel Discovery 12/16/2009 Cullen Jr. Paul Attorney $ Review fetter from opposing counsel and report to Dan Cohen and Paul Cullen, Sr., on same. PLAINTIFFS DISCOVERY Motion to Compel Discovery 12/16/2009 Cullen Jr. Paul Attorney $1,52250 Redraft second letter of deficiencies to incorporate response to letter from opposing counsel. Perron Exhibit C

9 CASE 0:09-cv DWF-LIB Document Filed 01/20/12 Page 2 of 3 PLAINTIFFS DISCOVERY Motion to Compel Discovery 12/16/2009 Mayers, Joyce Attorney $1,23750 Review correspondence; edit discovery response fetter. DEFENDANTS DISCOVERY DepositIons 12/16/2009 Cullen Sr. Paul Attorney $1,72500 Preparation and assembly of for House and Johnston depositions DEFENDANTS DISCOVERY Documents Produced By Plaintiff 12/17/2009 Cullen Jr. Paul Attorney $ Review OOlDA document production to aid in Johnston Preparation. DEFENDANTS DISCOVERY Depositions 12/17/2009 Cohen, Daniel Attorney $3,96000 Defend House depo; prep for Jonston depo; meet and confer Minn AG re discovery. DEFENDANTSff DISCOVERY Depositions 12/17/2009 Cullen Sr. Paul Attorney $3,45000 Attend Houses deposition. DEFENDANTS DISCOVERY DepositIons 12/17/2009 Cullen Sr. Paul Attorney $ Preparation and assembly of for Johnston deposition DEFENDANTS DISCOVERY Discovery Disputes 12/17/2009 Cullen Jr, Paul Attorney $ Review FRCP for rule covering protection of witness from harassing deposition and report to Paul Cullen, Sr., on same. EXPERT TESTIMONY Provide Materials to Expert 12/17/2009 Cullen Jr, Paul Attorney $ Review steep apnea study and provide to Expert Westbrook. EXPERT TESTIMONY Provide Materials to Expert 12/17/2009 Cullen Jr, Paul Attorney $1, Review and gather materials to sent to Dr. Westbrook. PLAINTIFFS DISCOVERY Motion to Compel Discovery 12/18/2009 Cullen Jr. Paul Attorney $ Begin research for bases for Motion to Compel discovery. Review incongruities between witness testimony and Defendants format discovery responses. Confer with Randy Herrick-Stare on same. PLAINTIFFS DISCOVERY Motion to Compel Discovery 12/18/2009 Herrick-Stare Attorney $ Confer with Paul D. Cullen, Jr. re Minnesota discovery responses, conflict between responses and deposition testimony, and conditions precedent to filing a Fed.R.Civ.P. 37 motion to compel. DEFENDANTS DISCOVERY Depositions 12/18/2009 Cullen Sr, Paul Attorney $3, Defend Johnston deposition. EXPERT TESTIMONY Provide Materials to Expert 12/18/2009 Cullen Jr. Paul Attorney $ Confer with Dr. Westbrook on expert report preparation. 2 Perron Exhibit C

10 CASE 0:09-cv DWF-LIB Document Filed 01/20/12 Page 3 of 3 DEFENDANTS DISCOVERY Depositions 12/18/2009 Cullen Sr. Paul Attorney $3,16250 Travel from depositions in St. Paul, MN to D.C. DEFENDANTS DISCOVERY Discovery Disputes 12/18/2009 Herrick-Stare Attorney $ Confer with Paul D. Cullen, Jr. re deposition of Jim Johnston and process to resolve discovery disputes DEFENDANTS DISCOVERY Depositions 12/ Cohen, Daniel Attorney $ Attend Johnston Depo; coordinate discovery productions/disputes with Minn. AG. 12/7/2009 Cohen, Daniel $ Outside meals 12/7/2009 Cohen, Daniel $ Outside meals 12/7/2009 Cullen Jr, $ Outside meals 12/7/2009 Cullen Jr, $ Outside meals Total: $1, Perron Exhibit C