UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA ORLANDO DIVISION

AFFORDABLE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY, INC.,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No: 6:21-cv-1166-CEM-LHP

ELEGANCE TRANSPORTATION, INC. and KALEEM U. KHAN,

Defendants

ORDER This cause came on for consideration without oral argument on the following motion filed herein: MOTION: PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO TAX ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS INCURRED REGARDING MOTION TO COMPEL (Doc. No. 31) FILED: September 7, 2022

THEREON it is ORDERED that the motion is GRANTED. On March 14, 2022, default judgment was entered in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendants for violations of the Copyright Act,

, et seq., the Digital Millennium Copyright Act,

(b), and for vicarious copyright infringements. Doc. Nos. 17-18. Defendants did not pay the judgment, and Plaintiff has initiated discovery in aid of execution. As part of that process, on August 8, 2022, Plaintiff filed a motion to compel Defendants to respond to requests

for production and interrogatories. Doc. No. 29. Defendants did not respond to the motion to compel, and on August 26, 2022, the Court granted the motion as unopposed. Doc. No. 30. The Court also found that Plaintiff was entitled to recover its reasonable fees and expenses under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

37(a)(5)(A).

. The Court permitted Plaintiff to file a motion for fees and costs by September 9, 2022.

On September 7, 2022, Plaintiff filed the above-styled motion, in which

Plaintiff requests $1,848.75 in fees and $75.00 costs. Doc. No. 31. In support of this requested amount, Plaintiff has attached the Declaration of its counsel, Daniel DeSouza, Esq., in which he avers, in pertinent part: Through the present date, I expended 3.90 hours of attorney time in prosecuting this matter on Plaintiff’s behalf and a paralegal (Denise Sosa) expended 0.75 hours of time in prosecuting this matter on Plaintiff’s behalf. This includes the time spent to draft the post- judgment discovery requests, follow up with defendants, draft the motion to compel post-judgment discovery requests draft the motion to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, and to FedEx all court documents to defendants. . . .

Doc. No. 31-1, ¶ 8. Attorney DeSouza further avers that the hourly rates sought - $450.00 for himself and $125.00 for his paralegal – are reasonable, and have been awarded in other similar cases to attorneys with similar experience.

. Last, Attorney DeSouza avers that $75.00 in costs was incurred in connection with this litigation and should be taxed.

. Plaintiff has attached billing records

which support the claim of the hours expended, and demonstrate that the $75.00 in costs was for mailing expenses related to the motion to compel and present motion for fees and costs. Doc. No. 31-1, at 7-8. Neither Defendant Elegance Transportation, Inc. nor Defendant Kaleem U.

Khan have responded to Plaintiff’s motion and the time for doing so has expired. See Local Rule 3.01(c). Consequently, the Court considers the motion to be unopposed. See id.1 And upon consideration of the unopposed motion (Doc. No.

31), Attorney Daniel Desouza’s affidavit and attached billing records (Doc. No. 31- 1), as well as the Court’s own knowledge and experience concerning reasonable and proper fees, see Norman v. Housing Authority of City of Montgomery,

(11th Cir. 1988), the Court finds Plaintiff’s request for $1,923.75 in attorney’s

fees and costs incurred in relation to the motion to compel well taken. See also Doc.

1 Plaintiff’s motion fails to comply with Local Rule 3.01(g)’s certification requirement, and the Court would be within its authority to deny the motion without prejudice on this basis. However, in this one instance, given the length of time that the motion has been pending and the fact that it was served on Defendants who have chosen to remain silent, the Court will permit the motion to go forward. But Plaintiff’s counsel is advised that any further filings that do not comply with any and all applicable Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or Local Rules will be summarily denied or stricken. Nos. 16-17 (awarding the same hourly rates to counsel in the default judgment context). Accordingly, it is ORDERED as follows: 1. Plaintiff’s Motion to Tax Attorneys’ Fees and Costs Incurred Regarding Motion to Compel (Doc. No. 31) is GRANTED. 2. On or before April 14, 2023, Defendants Elegance Transportation, Inc., and Kaleem U. Khan shall deliver to Plaintiff $1,923.75 in satisfaction of □□□□□□□□□□□

request for fees and costs in conjunction with the motion to compel. 3. Defendants are cautioned that failure to comply with this Order may result in sanctions.

DONE and ORDERED in Orlando, Florida on March 27, 2023.

LESLIE 3 AN PRICE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Copies furnished to: Counsel of Record Unrepresented Parties

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