Collar v. Abalux, Inc ( 2020 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA CASE NO. 16-20872-CIV-LENARD/GOODMAN JESUS LAZARO COLLAR, Plaintiff, v. ABALUX, INC. and JUAN D. CABRAL, Defendants. _______________________________/ ORDER ADOPTING OMNIBUS REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DETERMINE APPELLATE SANCTIONS AND FOR AN AWARD OF FEES RELATED TO THESE PROCEEDINGS, AND ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR RELEASE OF FUNDS FROM SUPERSEDEAS BOND (D.E. 262) THIS CAUSE is before the Court on Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman’s Omnibus Report and Recommendations on Defendants’ Motion to Determine Appellate Sanctions and for an Award of Fees Related to These Proceedings, and on Defendants’ Motion for Release of Funds from Supersedeas Bond, (“Report,” D.E. 262), issued November 9, 2020. Judge Goodman recommends: (1) awarding Defendants $15,920.00 in attorneys’ fees for defending Plaintiff’s counsel’s frivolous appeal of the order granting sanctions (calculated as 39.8 hours at $400 per hour); (2) awarding $2,000.48 in costs incurred defending Plaintiff’s counsel’s frivolous appeal; and (3) granting Defendants’ Motion for an Order Lifting the Stay of Execution and Directing the Clerk of Court to Disburse Funds from the Supersedeas Bond Along with Accrued Interest to satisfy the $27,171.80 in fees and costs awarded on March 6, 2019, directing the Clerk to calculate post-Judgment interest on the $27,171.80 awarded on March 6, 2019 through the date of payment, and directing the Clerk to pay this total amount to counsel for Defendants, Leslie Langbein, in partial satisfaction of the total sanctions award at the trial and appellate levels. (Report at 15, 17-19.) The Report provides the Parties with fourteen (14) days to file objections. As of the date of this Order, no objections have been filed. Failure to file objections shall bar parties from attacking on appeal the factual findings contained in the report. See Resolution Trust Corp. v. Hallmark Builders, Inc., 996 F.2d 1144, 1149 (11th Cir. 1993). Therefore, after an independent review of the Report and record, it is hereby ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that: 1. The Omnibus Report and Recommendations on Defendants’ Motion to Determine Appellate Sanctions and for an Award of Fees Related to These Proceedings, and on Defendants’ Motion for Release of Funds from Supersedeas Bond (D.E. 262) is ADOPTED; 2. Appellees/Defendants’ Verified Combined Motion to Determine the Amount of Appellate Sanctions to be Levied and for an Award of Fees Related to these Proceedings (D.E. 242) is GRANTED as follows: a) Defendants are awarded $15,920.00 in attorneys’ fees for defending Plaintiff’s counsel’s frivolous appeal of the order granting sanctions, for which sum let execution issue; and b) Defendants are awarded $2,000.48 in costs incurred defending Plaintiffs counsel’s frivolous appeal, for which sum let execution issue; 3. Defendants’ Verified Motion for an Order Lifting Stay of Execution and Directing Clerk to Disburse Funds from the Supersedeas Bond Along with Accrued Interest to Satisfy the Court’s March 6, 2019 Order (D.E. 243) is GRANTED as follows: a) The stay of collections pending appeal (see D.E. 207) is LIFTED; and b) The Clerk of Court is instructed to calculate post-judgment interest on the $27,171.80 awarded on March 6, 2019 (see D.E. 197) through the date of payment and then pay the total amount to counsel for Defendants, Leslie Langbein, in partial satisfaction of the total sanctions awarded at the trial and appellate levels. DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Miami, Florida this 25th day of November, 2020. ie foal. UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE