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LA. Appeals Court Affirms $1 Million Attorneys Fee Award in Wage Claim

Posted on: May 7, 2024
News: Committees
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Award could have been higher if the attorneys had kept better records.

When an employer has failed to pay wages owed to an employee, La. R.S. 23:632 provides for an award of unpaid wages, penalty wages equivalent to "ninety days wages at the employee's daily rate of pay" in certain circumstances, and attorneys’ fees and costs. Known as the Louisiana Wage Payment Act, the LWPA is arguably one of the most pro-worker pieces of legislation in the state of Louisiana.

Last November, attorneys for two aggrieved employees revealed the power of the LWPA when the Louisiana 5th Circuit affirmed a damages award of over $1 million in attorneys’ fees in favor of the plaintiffs, former area vice presidents for a toxicology and DNA testing laboratory.

Plaintiffs Shea Harrelson and James Agee filed suit against their former employer, UTC Laboratories, Inc., after they were denied salary and earned commissions upon termination. After five years of litigation, the plaintiffs’ attorneys had sought $1.7 million in fees. The trial court awarded Agee’s attorneys $365,458 in fees and awarded Harrelson’s attorneys $703,858 in fees, a total attorneys’ fee award of $1,069,316.

Although the trial court recognized that the attorneys participated in over 50 court appearances, and that the list of pleadings in the litigation was 40 pages, the court found it impossible to determine on the showing made whether there were redundant, excessive, or unnecessary hours billed by each attorney. The trial court therefore reduced the award that plaintiffs requested due to inadequate documentation.

On appeal to the La. 5th Circuit, the court found no “manifest error” in the trial court’s ruling on the fees. The appeals court noted that the trial court had requested, but was not provided, detailed contemporaneous and explicit billing records from the attorneys - a costly reminder of how important it is to keep detailed records on all our cases.

About the Author...

Natalie Mitchell
Law Office of Natalie K. Mitchell

Written on Behalf of the Labor & Employment Law Committee