Lurana S. Snow
How Judge Snow decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On a defendant/prevailing party's fee motion she applies the Hensley lodestar and will award the full requested amount where the hourly rates fall within the S.D. Fla. market and the opposing party does not object to the amount -- but she independently audits the hours and rates rather than rubber-stamping.
“the claimed rates of $250.00 - $405.00 per hour is within the range of rates charged in the Southern District of Florida for similar services by lawyers of reasonably comparable skills, experience and reputation ... the requested fee award of $101,927.24 should be granted.”
On SSA appeals she parses the ALJ's sequential evaluation and recommends remand (granting the claimant's MSJ in part) where specific findings -- step-two severity, treating-physician weight, vocational-expert testimony -- are not adequately supported.
“RECOMMENDED that the plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (DE 11) be GRANTED, in part, in that the case should be remanded to the Commissioner for a determination of: (1) whether the plaintiff's impairments ... were "severe" at step two ...; (2) whether ... the opinion of the plaintiff's treating physician should be given less than considerable weight”
Procedural preferences
Strictly enforces Rule 11's safe-harbor: a sanctions/fee motion not served separately on the opponent 21 days before filing (and filed only after dismissal, leaving nothing to withdraw) is barred outright, independent of the merits.
“Failure to give the opposing party the 21-day "safe harbor" provision forecloses relief under Rule 11 ... Rule 11 requires that the motion itself be served on the plaintiff, and failure to comply with that requirement is fatal.”
Awards taxable costs to the prevailing party under Rule 54(d)/28 U.S.C. 1920 but trims to statutorily recoverable items (e.g. excludes a non-taxable expedited deposition-transcript excerpt) and fixes post-judgment interest from the merits-judgment date.
“the total of taxable costs is $6,927.44 ($350.00 + $385.00 + $5,871.60 + $320.84).”
Cautions
On SSA, a claimant whose objections do not identify a specific, supported defect in the ALJ's findings will see the Commissioner's MSJ recommended granted and the denial affirmed; she defends those recommendations on de novo review when the claimant objects.
“the Report and Recommendation ... recommends that the Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment [DE 15] be denied”
Motion outcomes
Counted from classified signed orders only. Percentages are shown only where the sample is large enough to be meaningful; smaller samples are reported as raw counts.
| Summary judgment N = 4 |
Granted: 1Granted in part: 1Denied: 2 | counts only |
| Motion for attorney fees N = 4 |
Granted: 2Granted in part: 1Denied: 1 | counts only |
| Motion to tax costs N = 1 |
Granted: 1 | counts only |
| Motion to amend judgment N = 1 |
Granted: 1 | counts only |
A "1 of 1" is one ruling, not a tendency. Treat small samples as illustrative, not predictive.
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Report and Recommendation ... recommends that the Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment [DE 15] be denied”
“ORDER OVERRULING PLAINTIFF'S OBJECTIONS AND ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION; ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ... The Report and Recommendation [DE 20] of United States Magistrate Judge Lurana S. Snow, dated April 4, 2007 is ADOPTED”
“RECOMMENDED that the plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (DE 11) be GRANTED, in part, in that the case should be remanded to the Commissioner for a determination of: (1) whether the plaintiff's impairments ... were "severe" at step two ...; (2) whether ... the opinion of the plaintiff's treating physician should be given less than considerable weight ...; (3) whether ... jobs exist in the national economy which the plaintiff can perform.”
“RECOMMENDED that the Commissioner's Motion for Summary Judgment (DE 16) be DENIED.”
“RECOMMENDED that the motion be GRANTED, and that the defendants recover costs of $1,114.50, comprising $99.15 for copying costs and $1,015.35 for deposition transcripts, plus interest at the rate of 0.47% from July 31, 2009.”
“RECOMMENDED that Plaintiff's Verified Motion for Attorney's Fees and Non-Taxable Expenses and Costs (ECF No. 82) be GRANTED, and that the Plaintiff be awarded attorneys' fees in the amount of $101,927.24, litigation expenses in the amount of $4,650.00 and costs in the amount of $425.00.”
“RECOMMENDED that Plaintiff's Verified Motion for Award of Attorneys' Fees and Nontaxable Expenses and Costs Against Defendants (ECF No. 93) and Bill of Costs (ECF No. 94) be GRANTED, and that the Plaintiff be awarded attorneys' fees in the amount of $71,461.50 and costs in the amount of $634.81.”
“RECOMMENDED that Defendant Noreen Hampel's Motion for Attorneys' Fees (DE 13) be DENIED, and that the Court decline to award attorney's fees to the plaintiff for the defense of the motion.”
“1. The Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Lurana S. Snow, dated June 23, 2010 [DE 23] is hereby ADOPTED and APPROVED; 2. Plaintiff Scott W. Backhus's Motion to Amend Judgment against Defendants for Failure to Pay Settlement Payment [DE 16] is hereby GRANTED.”
“RECOMMENDED that Third Party Defendants' John Toscano and Marilyn Toscano's Motion for an Order Awarding Attorneys' Fees and Accounting Fees Incurred at the Trial Level (ECF No. 306) ... and ... Verified Motion to Tax Costs (ECF No. 247) be GRANTED, in part, and that the Third Party Defendants be awarded $250,000.00 for attorneys' fees and accounting expenses and $6,927.44 in taxable costs.”
EXCLUDED FROM STATS: criminal Report & Recommendation. The district judge's adoption order (granule -4) confirms Snow's R&R (DE 107) was 'approved, ratified and adopted' with no objections after de novo review, but the adoption order does not recite WHICH pretrial motion(s) the R&R addressed or the recommended disposition, so no motion is grounded. Recorded as an order read demonstrating her criminal-referral R&R work, not counted in motion stats.