A recent Law 360 story by Brian Steele, “Conn. State Worker Wants Atty Fees After Noose Trial Win”, reports that a Black employee of Connecticut's state energy and environmental regulator is asking a federal judge to award more than $200,000 in attorney fees after he prevailed in a lawsuit alleging that he was racially tormented and exposed to nooses in a hostile work environment.
The Law Office of W. Martyn Philpot Jr. represents Omar Tyson, who won $5,000 in a Feb. 14 jury verdict on his claims that his supervisors at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, or DEEP, failed to protect him from a co-worker's racial hostility. Tyson asked U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer of the District of Connecticut for a ruling that recognizes certain "economic realities" of prosecuting the suit, arguing further that he is entitled to the award under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and court rules.
"It is not hyperbole to suggest that civil rights cases such as the one at bar are often lost, with no recovery," Tyson's memorandum said. "The results of a loss of this sort can often be calamitous for both the client and a small firm where there has been a substantial expenditure of time and expense. Moreover, the incentive created by Congress was to attract competent attorneys to take on socially significant, yet difficult cases, on a contingent fee basis." The motion asks for $200,750 in fees based on a $500 hourly rate, and about $7,700 in expenses like taking depositions and issuing subpoenas.
Tyson claimed in his November 2021 amended complaint that he suffered race-based mistreatment starting in 2011, also alleging that on two occasions, he found a hangman's noose near his workstation. A colleague taunted and bothered Tyson at work, once pointing a cane at him as if it were a gun, and referred to the Black community as "you people" and "your people" when Tyson was present, among other offensive comments and behavior, according to the complaint.
A rate of $500 per hour "is the prevailing rate in the community" and similar to the fees charged by comparable attorneys, according to Tyson, who paid a $5,000 retainer.
"In this matter, the plaintiff's attorney's fee award should be determined in accordance with the well-established lodestar calculation method," the memo said. "The pertinent factors for calculating the lodestar include, but are not expressly limited to: the novelty and complexity of the litigation involved, the skill and experience of the attorney, the overall quality of the representation, and the understanding that payment of fees will generally not come until the end of the case, if at all."