Jewel King v. Shirley S. McCord Individually & D/B/A McCord Grocery, 707 F.2d 466 (11th Cir. 1983). · Go Syfert
Jewel King v. Shirley S. McCord Individually & D/B/A McCord Grocery, 707 F.2d 466 (11th Cir. 1983). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
27 citation events (2 in the last 25 years) across 7 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: Valley v. Ocean Sky Limo (flsd, 2015-02-02)
Treatment trajectory · 1984 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
1984 2005 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 11 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Valley v. Ocean Sky Limo
S.D. Fla. · 2015 · confidence medium
Finally, “[t]he court does not have to accept uncon-tradicted evidence [on the hourly rate] if there is a reason for rejecting it.” Carmichael v. Birmingham Saw Works, 738 F.2d 1126, 1137 (11th Cir.1984) (citing King v. McCord, 707 F.2d 466, 468 (11th Cir.1983)).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Lane v. CAPITAL ACQUISITIONS AND MANAGEMENT CO.
S.D. Fla. · 2008 · confidence medium
Finally, “[t]he court does not have to accept uncontradicted evidence [on the hourly rate] if there is a reason for rejecting-it.” Carmichael v. Birmingham Saw Works, 738 F.2d 1126, 1137 (11th Cir.1984) (citing King v. McCord, 707 F.2d 466, 468 (11th Cir.1983)).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Loranger v. Stierheim (2×) also: Cited "see"
11th Cir. · 1994 · confidence medium
We have warned that “ ‘[i]n a case where part of the attorney’s efforts are to go uncompensated, the burden is on the attorney to provide sufficient evidence for the court to make a correct division.’” Carmichael v. Birmingham Saw Works, 738 F.2d 1126, 1139 (11th Cir.1984) (quoting King v. McCord, 707 F.2d 466, 468 (11th Cir.1983)).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Loranger v. Stierheim (2×) also: Cited "see"
11th Cir. · 1994 · confidence medium
We have warned that " '[i]n a case where part of the attorney's efforts are to go uncompensated, the burden is on the attorney to provide sufficient evidence for the court to make a correct division.' " Carmichael v. Birmingham Saw Works, 738 F.2d 1126, 1139 (11th Cir.1984) (quoting King v. McCord, 707 F.2d 466, 468 (11th Cir.1983)). 26 Ray does not contend that he has submitted his fee request in a form which would enable the district court to determine how much time was spent on the federal litigation. 7 Ray simply insists that he is due to be compensated for all of this time. 27 In determin…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Mattie Norman, Clara Marshall, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated v. The Housing Authority of the City of Montgomery
11th Cir. · 1988 · confidence medium
Accord, NAACP v. City of Evergreen, 812 F.2d at 1334 ; King v. McCord, 707 F.2d 466, 468 (11th Cir.1983) (K ing v. McCord II); Mesa Petroleum Company v. Coniglio, 629 F.2d 1022, 1030 (5th Cir.1980); Brown v. Culpepper, 561 F.2d 1177, 1177-78 (5th Cir.1977); Davis v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County, 526 F.2d 865, 868 (5th Cir.1976).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Calvin Roderick Carmichael v. Birmingham Saw Works (2×)
11th Cir. · 1987 · confidence medium
It is difficult to understand why the district court insisted on reducing the award in this case without adequate explanation when Birmingham Saw never contested the award — even when explicitly offered the opportunity to do so. 3 As we stated in King v. McCord, 707 F.2d 466, 468 (11th Cir.1983), “A trial judge cannot substitute his own judgment for uncontradicted evidence, without explanation and record support.” (Citing Marable v. Walker, 704 F.2d 1219 (11th Cir.1983) (“this court has consistently required district courts to conduct evidentiary hearings [citation omitted] and to ente…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People, A/K/A Naacp v. The City Of Evergreen, Alabama
11th Cir. · 1987 · confidence medium
King v. McCord, 707 F.2d 466, 468 (11th Cir.1983) (King II) (disallowance of hours for unsuccessful claims); accord, Carmichael v. Birmingham Saw Works, 738 F.2d 1126, 1137 (11th Cir.1984) (reduction of requested hourly rate); Claiborne v. Illinois Central R.R., 583 F.2d 143 , 155 (5th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 442 U.S. 934 , 99 S.Ct. 2869 , 61 L.Ed.2d 303 (1979) (disallowance of estimated hours).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. City of Evergreen
11th Cir. · 1987 · confidence medium
King v. McCord, 707 F.2d 466, 468 (11th Cir.1983) (King II) (disallowance of hours for unsuccessful claims); accord, Carmichael v. Birmingham Saw Works, 738 F.2d 1126, 1137 (11th Cir.1984) (reduction of requested hourly rate); Claiborne v. Illinois Central R.R., 583 F.2d 143 , 155 (5th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 442 U.S. 934 , 99 S.Ct. 2869 , 61 L.Ed.2d 303 (1979) (disallowance of estimated hours).
cited Cited as authority (rule) Calvin Roderick CARMICHAEL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. BIRMINGHAM SAW WORKS, Defendant-Appellee
11th Cir. · 1984 · confidence medium
This argument is wrong. “[T]he court does not have to accept uncontradicted evidence if there is a reason for rejecting it.” King v. McCord, 11 Cir.1983, 707 F.2d 466, 468 (per curiam).
cited Cited "see" Loranger v. Stierheim
11th Cir. · 1993 · signal: see · confidence high
See King v. McCord, 707 F.2d 466, 468 (11th Cir.1983) (burden on party seeking fees to provide sufficient evidence for party to make correct division).
cited Cited "see" Loranger v. Stierheim
11th Cir. · 1993 · signal: see · confidence high
See King v. McCord, 707 F.2d 466, 468 (11th Cir.1983) (burden on party seeking fees to provide sufficient evidence for party to make correct division).
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
Jewel KING, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
Shirley S. McCORD, Individually and D/B/A McCord’s Grocery, Defendant-Appellee
82-7131.
Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Jun 13, 1983.
707 F.2d 466
Susan Williams Reeves, Birmingham, Ala., for plaintiff-appellant., Kullman, Lang, Inman & Bee, Henry T. Arrington, New Orleans, La., for defendant-appellee.
Roney, Clark, Tuttle.
Cited by 17 opinions  |  Published
PER CURIAM:

This case comes to us again on the single issue of the propriety of the attorney’s fees award. On the prior appeal, which also involved only the amount of the attorney’s fees, we were faced with an award of $2,000 with no explanation as to how that figure was determined. We remanded the case to the district court with instructions to “(1) hold an evidentiary hearing to resolve the factual disputes and allow appellants the opportunity to supplement the affidavits previously submitted, (2) recalculate the award in conformity with Johnson v. Georgia Highway Express, Inc. and this opinion, and (3) itemize the recalculated amount specifying the costs, expenses, and attorney’s fees.” King v. McCord, 621 F.2d 205, 207 (5th Cir.1980). [1]

All that was ordered has now been done. After a full hearing, the district court in a very explicit and detailed order awarded $11,954.94 in fees and $6,963.17 in expenses. Plaintiff contends that the district court erred by not giving proper weight to the contingent nature and the undesirability of the ease, by delaying its decision without any consideration of compensating for the delay in payment by awarding interest, by not using current rates, and by reducing the number of compensable hours. In spite of the validity of some of the points made by plaintiff, we can not reverse the decision of the district judge under the abuse of discretion standard of review.

The controlling factors, in our judgment, are that the plaintiff is not entitled to attorney’s fees for the time spent on claims unsuccessfully asserted in this litigation and relationship of the fee to the amount of recovery obtained. Hensley v. Eckerhart, - U.S. -, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983). Plaintiff was employed for ten years by a grocery store, one of five owned by the individual proprietor defendant. Plaintiff asserted two claims which she lost: a discriminatory failure to promote and a discriminatory failure to rehire, both under Title VII. She alleged and proved a claim under the Equal Pay Act that she had been denied pay, on the basis of her sex, when she performed the job of higher-paid male managers. She was awarded compensatory and liquidated damages in the amount of $6,504.60. No injunctive relief was obtained. This was not a class action. There is no indication that any significant legal precedent was set or that anyone other than plaintiff benefited from the efforts of counsel.

In a detailed order, the district court determined that the defendant was not liable for the attorney’s time in working on the unsuccessful claims. Although the issue is not without dispute, the district court properly applied the law in this Circuit. Familias Unidas v. Briscoe, 619 F.2d 391, 406 (5th Cir.1980); Hardy v. Porter, 613 F.2d 112, 114 (5th Cir.1980). The claims on which plaintiff did not prevail were not sufficiently intertwined with the successful claim as to require compensation. See Morgado v. Birmingham-Jefferson County Civil Defense Corps, 706 F.2d 1184, 1193-1194, (11th Cir.1983).

Having decided that issue, the district court then stated that “a review of the trial[*468] record, as well as a review of the submissions of counsel, indicates that preparation for the issue upon which the plaintiff prevailed was equal to ™/i9i of the total preparation by counsel.” It then took the precise hours asserted by counsel and calculated the reduction. The court properly allowed the hours spent seeking attorney’s fees. Johnson v. Mississippi, 606 F.2d 635 (5th Cir.1979).

In a case where part of the attorney’s efforts are to go uncompensated, the burden is on the attorney to provide sufficient evidence for the court to make a correct division. National Association of Concerned Veterans v. Secretary of Defense, 675 F.2d 1319, 1327-28 (D.C.Cir.1982) (when plaintiff does not ultimately prevail on all issues, fee application should indicate whether time expended on unsuccessful claims was excluded and, if so, the nature of the work and number of hours involved should be stated). Cf. Freeman v. Motor Convoy, Inc., 700 F.2d 1339, 1357 (11th Cir.1983) (upholding fee award where plaintiffs’ counsel identified and eliminated to the extent possible time spent litigating liability of a defendant against whom plaintiffs ultimately did not prevail). Although appellant faults the division made by the trial court, she points to no evidence in the record that would support any other division. We can find no abuse of discretion in the decision that was made based on this record.

We decline to consider all of the detailed arguments made on this appeal which fail to consider that plaintiff is not entitled to the fee she would have received had she prevailed on all issues. We note some errors in the district court’s findings. A trial judge cannot substitute his own judgment for uncontradicted evidence, without explanation and record support. Marable v. Walker, 704 F.2d 1219 (11th Cir.1983). Conversely, however, the court does not have to accept uncontradicted evidence if there is a reason for rejecting it. See Claiborne v. Illinois Central R.R., 583 F.2d 143, 155 (5th Cir.1978) (finding no abuse of discretion in trial court’s disallowance of hours undocumented even though defendant did not contest time). The ultimate goal is reasonable compensation. We agree that an effective fee of $23.50 per hour would be an abuse of discretion. But considering only the hours found compensable by the trial judge, that is not the effective rate.

The plaintiff obtained a monetary award of $6,504.60. The attorney’s fee was $11,954.94, the expenses an additional $6,963.17. Necessarily much of the legal work focused on the important Title VII issues, which were lost. We cannot say that the award is unreasonable.

AFFIRMED.

1

. The Fifth Circuit having been divided on October 1, 1981, P.L. 96-452, 94 Stat. 1995, this appeal from the Northern District of Alabama comes to the Eleventh Circuit. Bonner v. City of Prichard, Ala., 661 F.2d 1206, 1208 (11th Cir.1981) (en banc).