Practice point: The Appellate Division affirmed the trial court's award of attorneys' fees and costs to plaintiffs, the prevailing parties in this gender-based employment discrimination action. The court was not required to reduce fees to reflect a relative lack of success, as there is no per se rule against awarding fees in excess of damages recovered, and fees may be appropriate where a party recovers only nominal damages.
Student note: A court may discount senior attorney hours where they constitute a disprorportionate amount of time spent on the matter. While a court may award costs in the absence of receipts, the court is entitled to discount those costs it deems to be unreasonable.
Case: Hernandez v. Kaisman, NY Slip Op 03424 (1st Dep't 2016)
Here is the decision.
Tomorrow's issue: The doctrine of res judicata.
