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Justia Dockets & Filings Ninth Circuit Arizona District Court The Medical Protective Company v. Pang Filing 339
The Medical Protective Company v. Pang
ORDER granting in part and denying in part 329 Pang's Third Motion for Attorneys Fees, Costs, and Expenses, and awarding Pang a total of $117,687 in attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses, as described in the attached order. Signed by Senior Judge James A Teilborg on 3/19/2014.(ALS)
1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 9 Medical Protective Company, 10 Plaintiff, 11 ORDER v. 12 No. CV-05-02924-PHX-JAT Herman Pang, et al., 13 Defendants. 14 15 Pending before the Court is Defendant Herman Pang's motion for attorneys' fees 16 (Doc. 329), filed pursuant to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals mandate (Doc. 336) 17 (opinion published at Med. Protective Co. v. Pang, 740 F.3d 1279, 1284 (9th Cir. 2013)). 18 I. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 BACKGROUND The Ninth Circuit has succinctly summarized the factual and procedural background underlying this claim: Pang bought medical malpractice insurance from the Medical Protective Company ("Medical Protective"). In June 2002, Pang applied for a substantial increase in his malpractice coverage, and disclaimed that he had knowledge of any claims or potential claims against him. Medical Protective approved the coverage increase on July 3, 2002. On July 25, 2002, Pang received notice that a patient, Kymberli Williamson, was suing him for malpractice in Arizona state court (the "Williamson suit"). On September 21, 2005, Medical Protective filed this action in the District of Arizona seeking rescission of the coverage increase on the ground that Pang allegedly new of, but failed to disclose, Williamson's pending malpractice claim when he applied for the increase. Pang filed a counterclaim against Medical Protective for bad faith. Both Medical Protective and Pang moved for summary judgment, and the district court granted each party's motion in part. The court identified six unresolved 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 issues—relating to both Medical Protective's rescission claim and Pang's counterclaim—that remained for trial. Before the trial in the federal action, Pang obtained a favorable jury verdict in the Williamson suit. Williamson then appealed the verdict to the Arizona Court of Appeals. On March 25, 2008, while Williamson's appeal was pending, Pang and Medical Protective alerted the district court that they had reached a settlement in their coverage dispute. According to the terms of the settlement, both Medical Protective's rescission claim and Pang's bad faith counterclaim would be dismissed without prejudice. Depending on the outcome of Williamson's appeal, the parties were permitted either to reopen the action or to dismiss it with prejudice. At the parties request, the district court entered an order on March 26, 2008, dismissing both claims without prejudice (the "March 26 Order"). The March 26 Order specified that, no later than thirty days after the Arizona Court of Appeals issued a mandate in the Williamson suit, one of the parties herein shall file a motion in this action requesting: (1) that the Court enter a final order dismissing this action with prejudice; or (2) requesting that this action be re-opened for final pre-trial conference and trial; or (3) requesting that the nonfinal order of dismissal without prejudice and the Court's jurisdiction continue until after retrial of the Williamson case and termination of all appeals therefrom; or (4) such other orders as may be appropriate. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 If neither party filed such a motion, the March 26 Order would "automatically become a self-executing final order of dismissal with prejudice thirty-one (31) days after the filing of such mandate." Williamson eventually succeeded on her appeal. The Arizona Court of Appeals overturned the jury verdict in favor of Pang and remanded the case for a new trial.1 The Arizona Supreme Court subsequently denied Pang's petition for review. As a result, on February 25, 2010, the Arizona Court of Appeals issued its mandate in the Williamson suit. Neither Pang nor Medical Protective moved to re-open the federal action within thirty days after the issuance of the mandate. As a consequence, the March 26 Order became final according to its terms, and the action was dismissed with prejudice. The parties filed four post-judgment motions following the final order of dismissal. First, Pang moved for $126,590.93 in attorney's fees pursuant to Section 12-341.01, a statute granting courts discretion to award attorney's fees to the "successful party" in suits arising from contract. The district court denied Pang's fee motion, holding that there was "no 'successful party' within the meaning of Section 12-341.01" because the court had "never resolved the merits of either party's claims." Med. Protective Co. v. Pang, 271 F.R.D. 624, 628 (D. Ariz. 2010). The court determined that the case had been dismissed with prejudice based on a voluntary settlement agreement, and held that "[s]uch a result does not produce a 'successful party' within the meaning of Section 12-341.01." Id. 28 1 Medical Protective ultimately settled the Williamson suit on Pang's behalf. -2- Second, Pang sought $9,000.76 in costs. After the Clerk of the Court refused to award costs because no final judgment had been issued in the case, the district court denied Pang's motion to "revise" the Clerk's denial of its Bill of Costs, reasoning that Local Rule 54.1(d) governed Pang's request, and that provision made costs unavailable in cases terminated by voluntary settlement. Alternatively, the Court denied Pang's request for costs for the same reasons that it denied Pang's request for fees. 1 2 3 4 Third, one week after Pang filed his first fee motion, Medical Protective moved to amend the judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e) or to vacate the judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b). The district court denied Medical Protective's motion. Id. at 627, 628. 5 6 7 13 Fourth, after the district court denied Medical Protective's motion, Pang filed a second motion for attorney's fees—this time seeking compensation for legal expenses incurred in opposing Medical Protective's post-judgment motion to set aside the March 26 Order. Pang argued that, as the successful party on the post-judgment motion, he was entitled to attorney's fees pursuant to Section 12-341.01. The district court denied Pang's second motion because it did not "trigger[] a new action arising out of contract"; consequently, the court's prior holding that Pang was not the successful party also barred Pang from recovering attorney's fees on his second fee motion. Med. Protective Co. v. Pang ["Pang I"], 2011 WL 3903096, at *4 (D. Ariz. 2011). 14 Pang timely appealed. 8 9 10 11 12 15 16 Med. Protective Co. v. Pang ("Pang II"), 740 F.3d 1279, 1280–82 (9th Cir. 2013); see Pang I, previous orders of the Court. (Docs. 305, 321). 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 The Ninth Circuit affirmed the Court's denial of Pang's motion for costs, but reversed the Court's denial of Pang's Motion for attorneys' fees. Pang II, 740 F.3d at 1284. Specifically, the Ninth Circuit held that the Court did not apply the correct legal standard in determining the "successful party" under Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 12-341.01. Id. at 1280. On remand, the Court must determine "(1) whether Pang was the 'successful party' as defined by Arizona law, and (2) if so, whether the district court should exercise its discretion to award attorneys' fees." Id. II. LEGAL STANDARD Rule 54(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides a procedural mechanism for moving for attorneys' fees due under state law. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(d)(2)(B)(ii). Arizona Revised Statute § 12-341.01 provides that "[i]n any contested action arising out of a contract, express or implied, the court may award the successful -3- 1 party reasonable attorney fees." Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 12-341.01(A) (emphasis added). 2 Following Arizona law, the Court must decide whether there is a "successful party." If 3 the Court finds that a party is the "successful party" as envisioned in the statute, then the 4 Court exercises its discretion on whether to award reasonable attorneys' fees. See 5 Associated Indem. Corp. v. Warner, 694 P.2d 1181, 1184 (Ariz. 1985) (in banc). 6 A. "Successful" Party 7 The trial court has substantial discretion to determine who is a successful party. 8 Fulton Homes Corp. v. BBP Concrete, 155 P.3d 1090, 1096 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2007) (citing 9 Pioneer Roofing Co. v. Mardian Constr. Co., 733 P.2d 652, 664 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1986)). 10 "The decision as to who is the successful party for purposes of awarding attorneys' fees 11 is within the sole discretion of the trial court, and will not be disturbed on appeal if any 12 reasonable basis exists for it." Maleki v. Desert Palms Prof'l Properties, L.L.C., 214 P.3d 13 415, 422 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2009) (quoting Sanborn v. Brooker & Wake Prop. Mgmt., Inc., 14 874 P.2d 982, 987 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1994); accord Hale v. Amphitheater Sch. Dist. No. 10, 15 961 P.2d 1059, 1065 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1998). 16 "[S]uccessful parties" are "not limited to those who have a favorable final 17 judgment at the conclusion of the" action. Wagenseller v. Scottsdale Mem'l Hosp., 710 18 P.2d 1025, 1048 (Ariz. 1985) (in banc), superseded by statute on other grounds, Ariz. 19 Rev. Stat. § 12-341.01. As such, "[a]n adjudication on the merits is not a prerequisite to 20 recovering attorneys' fees under [§ 12-341.01]." Fulton Homes, 155 P.3d at 1096. 21 B. Discretion to Award Attorneys' Fees 22 If the Court finds that a party is the successful party, "there is no presumption that 23 a successful party should be awarded attorney fees under § 12–341.01." Motzer v. 24 Escalante, 265 P.3d 1094, 1095 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2011) (citing Warner, 694 P.2d at 1183). 25 Additionally, when a case involves several claims based upon different facts or 26 legal theories, the court may decline to award fees "for those unsuccessful separate and 27 distinct claims." Schweiger v. China Doll Rest., Inc., 673 P.2d 927, 933 (Ariz. Ct. App. 28 1983). -4- 1 III. ANALYSIS 2 A. 3 Defendant Pang asserts that he is entitled to reasonable attorneys' fees under Ariz. 4 Rev. Stat. § 12-341.01 because (1) under the "totality of the litigation" Pang is the "net 5 winner" for the case in chief (Doc. 329 at 3–7), and (2) Pang successfully defeated 6 MPC's post-judgment Rule 59(e) and 60(b) motions (id. at 7–8). In response, MPC 7 argues that (1) there is no successful party within the meaning of § 12-341.01 (Doc. 330 8 at 2–5), and (2) Pang cannot be the successful party in the post-judgment motions 9 because the post-judgment motions are considered in the totality of the litigation (id. at 10 11 Whether Pang was the Successful Party 5–8). 1. Legal Standard 12 The Court will consider "the totality of the circumstances and the relative success 13 of the litigants" to determine whether there is a successful party. McAlister v. Citibank, 14 829 P.2d 1253, 1262 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1992). "In cases involving various competing 15 claims, counterclaims and setoffs all tried together, the successful party is the net 16 winner." Berry v. 352 E. Virginia, L.L.C., 261 P.3d 784, 788 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2011) 17 (quoting Ayala v. Olaiz, 776 P.2d 807, 809 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1989)). Additionally, "in a 18 case involving multiple claims and varied success, the trial court may apply a 'percentage 19 of success' or a 'totality of the litigation' test." Berry, 261 P.3d at 788–89 (quoting 20 Schwartz v. Farmers Ins. Co. of Ariz., 800 P.2d 20, 25 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1990)). 21 2. Analysis 22 As a result of the self-executing March 26 Order (Doc. 262), the Court dismissed 23 with prejudice MPC's rescission claim and Pang's bad faith. Both parties claim the 24 March 26 Order as evidence that they are the successful party. (See Doc. 329 at 5–6 25 (Pang); Doc. 330 at 4 (MPC)). Pang argues that he is the successful party as the net 26 winner of the totality of the litigation. (Doc. 329 at 4). MPC argues that under the totality 27 of the litigation there is no successful party. (Doc. 330 at 2–3). Here, Pang erroneously 28 conflates these two tests. The net winner and the totality of the litigation are two separate -5- 1 tests infra discussion Part III.A.2.a, and the Court may consider either in determining if 2 there is a successful party. The Court reviews both tests to determine which is applicable 3 to the current case. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 a. Applicability of "Net Winner" Versus "Totality of the Litigation" Test Under the net judgment rule, the party that "obtains a judgment in excess of any setoff or counterclaim awarded to the other party" is the successful party. Schwartz, 800 P.2d at 25. See also Berry, 261 P.3d at 787, 789 (affirming the party with the greater monetary award as the net winner); Ayala, 776 P.2d at 809 (affirming the plaintiff as the net winner when only the plaintiff received monetary judgment on the single claim before the court); Trollope v. Koerner, 515 P.2d 340, 344 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1973) (affirming the appellant as the net winner when appellant received $791.75 out of $6000 claim and appellee received $500 out of $500 counterclaim). Here, neither party has received a monetary award on any of the competing claims and counterclaims. (See Doc. 262) (dismissing Pang's and MPC's claims with prejudice, and awarding neither party monetary judgments). Thus, the net judgment rule is inapplicable. Under the totality of the litigation rule, the Court reviews the multiple claims and whether the parties succeeded on these claims to determine which party is the successful party. Berry, 261 P.3d at 788–89. There are no strict factors, rather the trial court is afforded discretion in reviewing the totality of the litigation. See Pioneer Roofing Co. v. Mardian Constr. Co., 733 P.2d 652, 664 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1986). Here, the case contains multiple claims on which the parties had varied successes. Accordingly, the Court finds the totality of the litigation test is the appropriate test to determine if there is a successful party within the meaning of Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 12-341.01. b. Applying Totality to the Rescission and Bad Faith Claims MPC relies on Schwartz, 800 P.2d at 22, to argue that it is the successful party under the totality of the litigation test. (Doc. 330 at 4). In Schwartz, the insured plaintiff brought concurrent breach of contract and bad faith claims against the insurer defendant. 800 P.2d at 22. The court classified the bad faith claim as "a major issue" in the litigation, -6- 1 and stated that the claim had "substantial disparity in the relief requested" in comparison 2 to the $2000 breach of contract claim. Id. at 25. Under the totality of the litigation test, 3 the trial court found the defendant insurer to be the prevailing party because it prevailed 4 on the bad faith claim, the major part of the litigation. Id. at 24. The court of appeals 5 affirmed the award of attorneys' fees to the defendant. Id. at 25. 6 MPC argues that Schwartz addresses the instant situation, and that a successful 7 party is the one who defends against the bad faith claim. (Doc. 330 at 4). The Schwartz 8 Court found that the insurer was the successful party because it defended against the 9 major part of the litigation. Schwartz, 800 P.2d at 25. There, the major issue of the 10 litigation was the bad faith claim because of the "substantial disparity in the relief 11 requested." Id. Here, however, the major issue of the litigation was not the bad faith 12 claim, but rather the rescission claim. In making this determination, the Court compares 13 the increase in coverage Pang received as a result of the dismissal of MPC's rescission 14 claim, to the benefit MPC received as a result of the dismissal of Pang's bad faith claim. 15 If successful, the rescission claim would have reduced Pang's coverage by $4 million per 16 claim and $2 million in the aggregate. If not for the dismissal with prejudice, Pang's 17 lower limits, combined with the potential liability from the Williamson action, could have 18 exposed him to a major claim outside the uncontested coverage limits.2 Although MPC 19 benefitted from the dismissal of Pang's bad faith claim, it is not clear that MPC initially 20 faced as great a liability, particularly because the Court granted summary judgment 21 against Pang's punitive damages claim. 22 Moreover, Pang's bad faith claim was voluntarily dismissed, as evidenced by his 23 decision to allow the March 26 Order to self-execute. In contrast, MPC did not 24 voluntarily choose to allow the March 26 Order to execute. This is evidenced by the Rule 25 59(e) and Rule 60(b) motions MPC filed to alter the Court's Order to a dismissal without 26 27 28 2 Because the Williamson action settled for a confidential amount, the Court cannot definitively determine whether Pang faced liability outside the uncontested coverage limits. The difference in the per occurrence liability coverage was $4 million, so that is the potential liability the Court considers. -7- 1 prejudice. (See Docs. 266, 268). Thus, Pang successfully defended against the initial 2 action brought against him. Attorneys' fees can be awarded when a party successfully 3 defends claims brought against them. See Fulton Homes, 155 P.3d at 1096. 4 The Court granted in part and denied in part each Party's motion for summary 5 judgment. (Doc 242 at 21). Successful summary judgment motions are pieces in the 6 totality of the litigation. See Wagenseller, 710 P.2d at 1047–48. The Court granted 7 MPC's motion for summary judgment: "1) on the issue of materiality on its rescission 8 claim and 2) on the issue of punitive damages on the bad faith counterclaim." (Doc. 242 9 at 20–21). The Court granted Pang's motion for summary judgment: "1) on MPC's claim 10 for partial rescission to the extent MPC bases its claim on Dr. Pang's answer to the non- 11 hospital organization review question and 2) on the issue of legal fraud regarding the 12 question about peer committee review." (Doc. 242 at 21). The Court preserved MPC's 13 rescission claim and Pang's bad faith claim for compensatory damages for trial. (Doc. 14 242 at 20). Viewed in the totality of the litigation, neither party was successful on the 15 partial grant of summary judgment because the rescission claim, the major issue, and the 16 bad faith counterclaim remained for trial. Accordingly, the Court finds that in the totality 17 of the litigation the partial grants of summary judgment factor evenly for the Parties. 18 Pang argues that he could be awarded attorneys' fees for the post-judgment 19 motions if found to be the successful party on those motions. (Doc. 329 at 7–8). In 20 contrast, MPC argues that the post-judgment motions are not separately reviewed, but 21 rather are pieces considered in the totality of the litigation. (Doc. 330 at 5–8). The Court 22 considers these motions in the totality of the litigation to determine whether Pang was the 23 successful party. 24 MPC submitted the Rule 59(e) and Rule 60(b) motions to alter the March 26 Order 25 to a dismissal without prejudice. (Doc. 266 at 13; Doc. 268 at 5). Pang opposed these 26 motions and requested the Court uphold the dismissal with prejudice. (Doc. 272 at 5–9; 27 Doc. 275 at 7–11). The Court upheld the dismissal with prejudice. (Doc. 305 at 6–8). 28 Although MPC argues that "Medical Protective's lack of success on a procedural motion -8- 1 in no way can be construed as qualifying Dr. Pang as the ultimate successful party" (Doc. 2 330 at 6), these were not merely procedural motions. Pang's defense against MPC's 3 Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e) and 60(b) motions effectively ensured that the rescission claim, the 4 major issue of the litigation, was permanently dismissed. Accordingly, Pang is the 5 successful party in the post judgment motions. 6 In sum, the Court finds Pang to be the successful party in the totality of the 7 litigation. First, the Court notes that the Parties were equally unsuccessful in the summary 8 judgment motions. Second, the Court finds the increase in coverage Pang received as a 9 result of the dismissal outweighed the benefit MPC received from the dismissal of Pang's 10 bad faith claim. Through the Order of March 26, Pang reduced his future liability by $4 11 million per occurrence and $2 million in the aggregate. In contrast, MPC did not face as 12 large a liability from the bad faith claim for compensatory damages. Finally, by opposing 13 the Rule 59(e) and Rule 60(b) motions, Pang ensured the Court's dismissal with prejudice 14 would remain in effect, thus ending the major issue of the litigation. Accordingly, under 15 the totality of the litigation test, the Court finds Pang to be the successful party. 16 17 B. Whether the Court Should Exercise Its Discretion in Awarding Reasonable Attorneys' Fees 18 Pang seeks attorneys' fees as the successful party. Under Ariz. Rev. Stat. 19 § 12-341.01 the Court has discretion to award the successful party reasonable attorneys' 20 fees. Warner, 694 P.2d at 1184. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1. Legal Standard If the Court finds a successful party, it has broad discretion in awarding reasonable fees. In exercising its discretion, the Court considers the six factors adopted in Warner: (1) whether the unsuccessful party's claim or defense was meritorious; (2) whether the litigation could have been avoided or settled and the successful party's efforts were completely superfluous in achieving the result; (3) whether assessing fees against the unsuccessful party would cause an extreme hardship; -9- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 (4) whether the successful party prevailed with respect to all of the relief sought; (5) whether the legal question presented was novel and whether such claim or defense have previously been adjudicated in this jurisdiction; and (6) whether the award would discourage other parties with tenable claims or defenses from litigating or defending legitimate contract issues for fear of incurring liability for substantial amounts of attorneys' fees. Wagenseller, 710 P.2d at 1049 (citing Warner, 694 P.2d at 1184). No one factor is determinative, and the Court considers all six factors in its determination. Wilcox v. Waldman, 744 P.2d 444, 450 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1987). 2. Analysis Following the Warner factors, Pang argues that (1) MPC's claim was not meritorious (Doc. 329 at 9–10); (2) Pang's efforts were not superfluous in achieving the result (id. at 10); (3) assessing fees against MPC would not cause substantial harm (id.); (4) the dismissal with prejudice is an adjudication on the merits (id. at 10–11); (5) the rescission claim is not novel as it has been previously adjudicated in Arizona state and federal courts (id. at 11); and (6) an award of attorneys' fees would not discourage other insurance companies from filing declaratory judgment insurance policy litigation against other insureds (id.). Pang reiterates substantially similar arguments in his request for attorneys' fees on the post-judgment motions. (Doc. 329 at 11–12). The Court addresses each factor in turn. Under the first factor, the Court examines the merit of MPC's rescission claim. The Court notes that a claim can have merit even if it does not succeed. Scottsdale Mem'l Health Sys., Inc. v. Clark, 791 P.2d 1094, 1099 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1990). Here, MPC's rescission claim survived the Court's grant of partial summary judgment to Pang. (Doc. 242 at 21). Surviving summary judgment indicates the claim was not frivolous, and, in the opinion of the Court, shows that the rescission claim was sufficiently meritorious to proceed to the jury. Nonetheless, Pang argues that MPC's motion to dismiss the rescission claim (Doc. - 10 - 1 260) after the trial court ruled for Pang in the Williamson suit indicates that the rescission 2 claim was unnecessary and lacked merit. (Doc. 329 at 9–10). That MPC's pursuit of the 3 rescission claim depended on the outcome of the Williamson action does not affect 4 whether the claim had merit. Rather, this was a strategic decision by MPC. MPC's initial 5 claim arose out of a concern that the Williamson case would demand costs outside of the 6 uncontested insurance policy limit. (See Doc. 1 at 4–6). If the Williamson case had settled 7 within the undisputed limit or been resolved in Pang's favor than it would not have been 8 necessary for MPC to pursue the rescission claim. This is evidenced by MPC's 9 willingness to dismiss the rescission action after the favorable trial court verdict in the 10 underlying Williamson suit. (Doc. 260). However, whether Pang prevailed in the 11 Williamson action is not relevant to the merit of MPC's fraud allegation against Pang. 12 Accordingly, the determination of the Williamson action is not indicative of the merits of 13 the rescission action. 14 Regarding the second factor, as a preliminary matter, the Court considers whether 15 the Parties attempted to settle the claim, whether litigation could have been avoided, and 16 whether the Parties' efforts were entirely superfluous in achieving the result. Pang argues 17 he attempted to negotiate with MPC after the March 26 Order dismissed the rescission 18 claim with prejudice. (Doc. 329 at 11). However, the sole communication from Pang 19 does not mention negotiations, but rather demands payment of attorneys' fees and that 20 MPC withdraw its pending Rule 59(e) and 60(b) motions. (See Exhibit O). Accordingly, 21 the Court finds that neither party attempted to enter into negotiations. 22 Additionally, the Court finds that the litigation could not have been avoided. 23 Whether the rescission claim would be pursued or voluntarily dismissed depended 24 heavily on the outcome of the Williamson case. The outcome of the Williamson case was 25 unknown until that action finally settled on May 14, 2010. At the time the Williamson 26 action settled, the Court had not issued its order on MPC's post-judgment motions. Thus, 27 both parties' efforts were not "completely superfluous" in continuing to prepare for the 28 rescission claim while the Williamson case remained unsettled. - 11 - 1 The Court notes that "the result" on review is the dismissal with prejudice, as this 2 is the ultimate result of the rescission claim. The March 26 Order (Doc. 262) was self- 3 executing. By definition, the result of a self-executing action is contingent upon the 4 inaction of the parties, rather than their efforts. However, after the March 26 Order self- 5 executed, MPC strongly opposed the March 26 Order. Through its Rule 59(e) and 60(b) 6 motions, MPC sought to undo "the result" and amend the order to a dismissal without 7 prejudice. (Doc. 266 at 13; Doc. 268 at 9). Pang's efforts to uphold the dismissal with 8 prejudice were not completely superfluous because this Court denied MPC's motions and 9 the dismissal with prejudice stands. (Doc. 305 at 6–7). 10 Additionally, MPC contends that the motion for summary judgment on the 11 rescission claim had no relationship to the dismissal with prejudice because it was a self- 12 executing dismissal. (Doc. 330 at 12). However, Pang successfully defended against 13 MPC's request for summary judgment on the rescission claim. (Doc. 242 at 7–14). Had 14 Pang not successfully done so, "the result" would not have been the dismissal with 15 prejudice of MPC's rescission claim, but rather a judgment in MPC's favor. Accordingly 16 the Court finds Pang's efforts were not completely superfluous to the result. 17 Regarding the third factor, the Court finds MPC has failed to show how assessing 18 reasonable attorneys' fees and related costs would cause an "extreme hardship." MPC 19 argues that it has already paid significant fees during the various phases of this litigation, 20 which "adversely impact[ed]" MPC. (Doc. 330 at 12). Although further litigation fees 21 may adversely impact MPC, there is no evidence that the fees would cause an extreme 22 hardship. In contrast, as another Judge in this District has stated, "[p]laintiff is an 23 insurance company; the costs of litigating coverage claims can be considered a cost of 24 doing business." Interstate Fire & Cas. Co., Inc. v. Roman Catholic Church of Diocese of 25 Phoenix ex rel. Olmsted, CV-09-01405-PHX-NVW, 2012 WL 4856211, at *4 (D. Ariz. 26 Oct. 11, 2012). Accordingly, assessing reasonable attorneys' fees against MPC would not 27 cause extreme hardship. 28 Under the fourth factor, the Court reviews whether Pang succeeded in all the relief - 12 - 1 he sought. In Pang's answer to MPC's complaint, he requested: (1) that MPC's 2 Complaint be dismissed with prejudice; (2) for a declaration that MPC provide coverage 3 with limits of $5,000,000 per claim and $5,000,000 aggregate, including claims by 4 Kymberli Williamson; (3) compensatory damages; (4) punitive damages; (5) attorneys' 5 fees; and (6) costs. (Doc. 21 at 11). Here, Pang succeeded on having the rescission claim 6 dismissed with prejudice through the March 26 Order. Pang did not receive the 7 declaration of coverage limits he sought and the March 26 Order dismissed his claim for 8 compensatory damages. Additionally, the Court's summary judgment motion denied 9 Pang the ability to seek punitive damages (Doc. 242 at 21), the Court denied Pang's 10 motion for costs (Doc. 305 at 7–8), and Pang's request for attorneys' fees is currently 11 before the Court. Admittedly, Pang has not succeeded on all relief sought. However, the 12 dismissal of the rescission claim does weigh strongly in his favor, as it was the major part 13 of the litigation. Additionally, while Pang did not receive declaratory relief, the 14 Williamson case was entirely settled by MPC. Pang's claim for relief requested "MPC 15 provide coverage . . . including claims by Kymberli Williamson." (Doc. 21 at 11). By 16 settling the claim, MPC provided coverage for the claims by Williamson. On balance 17 with Pang's failure to receive relief in his other claims, the Court finds this factor slightly 18 favors Pang. 19 Regarding the fifth factor, the Court finds that MPC's rescission claim did not 20 involve novel legal questions. MPC asserts this is a unique factual scenario, particularly 21 due to the self-executing order. (Doc. 330 at 13). However, different factual scenarios do 22 not create per se novel legal questions. Accordingly, the Court finds this factor does not 23 weigh in either Party's favor. 24 Concerning the sixth factor, the Court does not find an award of attorneys' fees 25 would produce a chilling effect that dissuades other insurance companies from having 26 their legal rights determined under an insurance agreement. MPC has presented no 27 argument on why an award of attorneys' fees to Pang would discourage insurers from 28 bringing rescission claims against an insured. Thus, this factor favors Pang. - 13 - 1 In sum, the Court finds that the Warren factors weigh in Pang's favor. Pang is 2 entitled to an award of attorneys' fees. Accordingly, the Court uses its discretion to award 3 Pang reasonable attorneys' fees. 4 C. 5 The "case law construing what is a 'reasonable' fee applies uniformly" to all 6 federal fee-shifting statutes. City of Burlington v. Dague, 505 U.S. 557, 562 (1992). In 7 determining a reasonable attorneys' fee, the Court must begin with the "lodestar" figure 8 which is "the number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation multiplied by a 9 reasonable hourly rate." Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433 (1983). There is a 10 "strong presumption" that the lodestar is the reasonable fee. Pennsylvania v. Del. Valley 11 Citizens' Council for Clean Air, 478 U.S. 546, 565 (1986). When deciding the reasonable 12 number of hours expended and the reasonableness of the hourly rate, a court may 13 consider: "(1) the novelty and complexity of the issues[;] (2) the special skill and 14 experience of counsel[;] (3) the quality of representation[;] and (4) the results obtained." 15 Cabrales v. Cnty. of Los Angeles, 864 F.2d 1454, 1464 (9th Cir. 1988), vacated, 490 U.S. 16 1087 (1989), reinstated, 886 F.2d 235 (9th Cir. 1989). Additionally, "[i]n determining 17 reasonable hours, counsel bears the burden of submitting detailed time records justifying 18 the hours claimed to have been expended. Those hours may be reduced by the Court 19 where documentation of the hours is inadequate; if the case was overstaffed and hours are 20 duplicated; [or] if the hours expended are deemed excessive or otherwise unnecessary." 21 Chalmers v. City of Los Angeles, 796 F.2d 1205, 1210 (9th Cir. 1986), reh'g denied, 22 amended on other grounds, 808 F.2d 1373 (9th Cir. 1987) (internal citations omitted). 23 The Court will adhere to these factors in reviewing the reasonableness of Pang's Motion 24 for Attorneys' Fees & Related Non-Taxable Expenses. 25 Reasonableness of Requested Award 1. Total Attorneys' Fees and Non-Tax Related Expenses 26 On behalf of Attorney Timothy Kasparek, junior partner Rae Richardson, and 27 paralegal Renee Slagter, Pang seeks $126,590.93 in attorneys' fees and non-tax related 28 expenses for the case in chief and $10,120 in attorneys' fees for the post-judgment - 14 - 1 motions. In total, Pang seeks $136,710.93. 2 a. Total Requested Attorneys' Fees 3 Pang points to the time records listed in Exhibits G-1, G-3, and N to support his 4 burden of justifying the hours expended. (Doc. 329). Exhibit G-1 lists the total hours as 5 444.50, claiming fees of $85,887.00, and costs of $1972.81. (Doc. 329, Ex. G-1 at 73). 6 Exhibit G-3 lists the total hours as 156.1, claiming fees of $31,240, and costs of 7 $2,728.42. (Doc. 329, Ex. G-3 at 9). Exhibit N lists the total hours at 50.6, claiming fees 8 of $10,120, and zero costs or expenses. (Doc. 329, Ex. N at 3). The submitted records 9 account for a total of 619.1 hours for Attorney Kasparek (Doc. 329, Ex. G-1 at 6, 10, 12, 10 15, 17, 21, 26, 28, 31, 34, 37, 71; Ex. G-3 at 9; Ex. N at 3); 6.5 hours for junior partner 11 Richardson (Doc. 329, Ex. G-1 at 73); and 25.6 hours for paralegal Slagter (id.). 12 Although claiming $136,710.93 in fees and non-tax related expenses, in total Pang has 13 provided documentation justifying only $131,928.23. The Court will not award 14 unjustified fees. The Court finds that, at most, Pang has justified $131,928.23 in 15 attorneys' fees and non-taxable related expenses. 16 17 b. Fees for Junior Partner Richardson and Paralegal Slagter 18 MPC has not objected to Pang's request for $975 in fees for junior partner 19 Richardson, nor has MPC objected to the $2432 for paralegal Slagter. Additionally, MPC 20 has not objected to the reasonableness of junior partner Richardson's $150 per hour rate 21 or Slagter's $95 per hour rate. The Court reviews these fees for their reasonableness 22 under Local Rule of Civil Procedure 54.2. See, e.g., Gametech Int'l, Inc. v. Trend 23 Gaming Sys., 380 F.Supp.2d 1084, 1100 (D. Ariz. 2005) (reviewing attorney and 24 paralegal fees for reasonableness). Pang submitted 6.5 hours for Richardson's attendance 25 at a document inspection. (Doc. 329, Ex. G-1 at 38). The Court finds this fee and rate 26 reasonable. Pang submitted 25.6 hours for Slagter's preparation and organization of legal 27 documents, as well as her research and conference call participation. (Doc. 329, Ex. G-1 28 at 27, 40, 43). The Court finds these fees and the per hour rate reasonable. Accordingly, - 15 - 1 the Court awards 6.5 hours totaling $975 for Richardson and 25.6 hours totaling $2432 2 for Slagter's fees. c. 3 Attorneys' Fees for Attorney Kasparek 4 Pang seeks attorneys' fees on behalf of Attorney Kasparek. Pang has submitted 5 records accounting for 619.1 hours. MPC objects to several portions of the incurred fees. 6 MPC argues that (1) Pang's task-based itemized statement of attorneys' fees contains 7 numerous descriptions that are incomplete and inadequate (Doc. 330 at 14); (2) Pang 8 grouped numerous tasks under a total billing hour (id. at 15); (3) it is unreasonable to 9 award Pang fees on unsuccessful claims (id. at 16); and (4) the post-judgment motions 10 fees contain time entries unrelated to the post-judgment motions (id. at 17). The Court 11 reviews MPC's claims, along with the entire record, to determine the reasonableness of 12 the fees. i. 13 Adequate Non-Privileged Descriptions 14 MPC argues (Doc. 330 at 15) that the redacted entries in Pang's submitted task- 15 based itemized statement (Doc. 329, Exs. G-1, G-3, N) fail to provide an adequate non- 16 privileged description of the services rendered. 17 In the District of Arizona, motions for attorneys' fees and costs are governed by 18 Local Rule of Civil Procedure 54.2. A motion for attorneys' fees "must adequately 19 describe the services rendered so that the reasonableness of the charge can be evaluated." 20 L.R. Civ. 54.2(e)(2). Although counsel should not disclose matters giving rise to issues 21 associated with attorney-client privilege and work-product doctrine, counsel must 22 "nevertheless furnish an adequate non-privileged description of the services in question." 23 Id. Otherwise, the court may reduce the fee for those incomplete and inadequate 24 descriptions. Id. 25 MPC points to descriptions such as "01/20/06 Email to Dr. Pang RE: [redacted]." 26 (Doc. 330, Exhibit 2 at 1). MPC argues that such a statement lacks an adequate non- 27 privileged description of the email. However, Pang has submitted a detailed report, 28 Exhibit G-5, with his reply to MPC's motion. (Doc. 334, Ex. G-5). Exhibit G-5 provides - 16 - 1 an adequate non-privileged description of each of the entries MPC described as lacking. 2 For example, "01/20/06 Email to Dr. Pang RE: [redacted]" (Doc. 330, Ex. 2 at 1) is 3 described as "Email to Dr. Pang re [conference with counsel]; [received and reviewed 4 reply from Pang]." (Doc. 334, Ex. G-5 at 3). Exhibit G-5 provides adequate description 5 for each entry cited by MPC in Exhibit 2. Thus, the Court finds Pang has furnished an 6 adequate non-privileged description of the services in question. Accordingly, the Court 7 finds these contested fees reasonable. ii. 8 Block-Billing 9 MPC additionally argues that entries where Pang grouped several tasks together 10 are inadequate and incomplete because it is impossible to evaluate the reasonableness of 11 each individual task within the grouped entry.3 (Doc. 330 at 15). This type of block- 12 billing is not inappropriate per se when the party seeking fees meets the basic 13 requirements of "listing his hours and identifying the general subject matter of his time 14 expenditures." Fischer v. SJB-P.D. Inc., 214 F.3d 1115, 1121 (9th Cir. 2000) (internal 15 quotations omitted); see Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433 (1983) (noting that 16 although the fee applicant bears the burden of submitting "evidence supporting the hours 17 worked and rates claimed," an applicant is "not required to record in great detail how 18 each minute of his time was expended"). While not forbidden by case law, block-billing 19 makes it nearly impossible for the Court to determine the reasonableness of the hours 20 spent on each task. Where the Court cannot distinguish between the times claimed for the 21 various tasks, the Court will reduce the award accordingly. L.R. Civ. 54.2(e)(2); see 22 Chalmers, 796 F.2d at 1210. 23 Here, there are 26 entries of block-billing. (See Doc. 330, Ex. 3 at 7–13). Of the 26 24 entries, 15 do not list the time breakdown for each individual task within the group (see, 25 26 27 28 3 MPC also argues that these block-billed entries are inadequate and incomplete because they do not provide adequate non-privileged descriptions. (Doc. 330 at 15). As previously explained, Pang has submitted adequate non-privileged descriptions for each of these listed entries. (See Doc. 334, Ex. G-5). After reviewing these entries, the Court finds that Pang provided adequate non-privileged descriptions for each of the contested entries. Accordingly, the Court finds these fees reasonable. - 17 - 1 e.g., Doc. 329, Ex. G-1 at 45), and 11 do list the individual time breakdowns (see, e.g., 2 Doc. 329, Ex. G-1 at 39). For the 11 block-billed entries that list times for each task, the 3 Court finds the itemized statements to be adequate and complete. Of the 15 entries that 4 are block-billed without separate times listed for each task, the Court finds 13 entries 5 unreasonable. The two remaining entries are reasonable because they bill .1 hours for 6 reviewing multiple emails. (Doc. 329, Ex. 2 at 9, 13). In sum, the 13 unreasonable entries 7 total 33.7 hours. The Court therefore finds 33.7 hours unreasonable and will reduce the 8 reasonable hours of the lodestar calculation accordingly. iii. 9 Pang's Unsuccessful Counterclaims 10 MPC argues that Pang is not entitled to fees incurred in relation to the 11 counterclaims, because Pang was unsuccessful on the bad faith counterclaims. (Doc. 330 12 at 16). In Arizona, when "a party has accomplished the result sought in the litigation, fees 13 should be awarded for time spent even on unsuccessful legal theories." Schweiger, 673 14 P.2d at 933 (emphasis added). As previously discussed, the Court found "the result" to be 15 the dismissal with prejudice of the rescission claim. See discussion supra Part III.B.2. 16 Because Pang accomplished the result that he sought in the litigation, fees should be 17 awarded for time spent on the unsuccessful counterclaims. Accordingly, the Court finds 18 an award of the hours spent on the counterclaims reasonable and will award the time 19 spent on the counterclaims. 20 iv. Fees Unrelated to the Post-Judgment Motions 21 MPC argues that Pang is not entitled to certain fees claimed for the post-judgment 22 motions because "the time entries do not pertain to solely the Rule 59(e) and Rule 60(b) 23 motions." (Doc. 330 at 17). MPC specifically references the 10.9 hours claimed for oral 24 argument preparation and attendance. (Id.) MPC argues that Pang cannot seek fees 25 because the "majority of the motions for consideration on that day of oral argument were 26 filed by Pang and denied by the Court." (Id.) 27 The Court notes MPC does not cite any statutes, cases, or rules in support of the 28 argument that a party seeking fees for oral argument preparation cannot have brought the - 18 - 1 majority of motions for consideration. The Court does not find this argument compelling, 2 particularly because MPC's Rule 59(e) and Rule 60(b) motions that sought to re-open the 3 rescission claim were also argued that day. Accordingly, the Court does not find these 4 10.9 hours unreasonable. 5 MPC further contests numerous entries in Exhibit N as unnecessary and unrelated 6 to the post-judgment motions. (Doc. 330 at 17). This includes entries such as emailing 7 Dr. Pang on the status of the motions and reviewing the Court's orders on the oral 8 argument. (Doc. 330, Ex. 5 at 23). The Court does not find it unreasonable for Attorney 9 Kasparek to keep Pang informed on the status of motions which could re-open the 10 rescission claim against him. Nor does the Court find reviewing the Court's orders 11 unreasonable. Accordingly, the Court finds the fees contested in Exhibit-5 reasonable. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 v. Legal Fees and Costs Associated with Pang's Second Motion for Attorneys' Fees, Costs, and Expenses In addition to other fees, Pang seeks to recover 5.3 hours of Attorney Kasparek's time related to the preparation of the Memorandum in support of Dr. Pang's Second Motion for Award of Attorneys' Fees, Costs, and Expenses. (See Doc. 329, Ex. N at 3). Under the Local Rules, the Memorandum in Support of the Motion for Award of Attorneys' Fees, Costs, and Expenses must include discussion of eligibility, entitlement, and reasonableness. L.R. Civ. 54.2(c)(1)–(3). Specifically, under entitlement, "[i]f the moving party claims entitlement to fees for preparing the motion and memorandum for award of attorneys' fees and related non-taxable expenses, such party also must cite the applicable legal authority supporting such specific request." L.R. Civ. 54.2(c)(2). While Pang has complied with Local Rule 54.2(c)(1) and (3) (Doc. 329 at 9–17), he has failed to cite any applicable legal authority supporting his claim of entitlement to fees for preparing the Second Motion and Memorandum for Award of Attorneys' Fees, as required by Local Rule 54.2(c)(2). Accordingly, Pang has not shown that he is entitled to recovery for the 5.3 hours of attorney time spent in preparing his motion for fees and costs. The Court will reduce the reasonable hours component of the lodestar calculation - 19 - 1 accordingly. vi. 2 Hours Billed During Air Travel 3 The Court notes Pang, on behalf of Attorney Kasparek, has claimed 19.1 hours for 4 air travel time. Under the Local Rules, "[o]rdinarily air travel time should not be charged. 5 If services were performed during such time, then describe such services rather than 6 charging for travel time." L.R. Civ. 54.2(e)(2)(D). Of the 19.1 hours billed for air travel 7 time, only 10.4 hours describe the services performed by Attorney Kasparek. (Doc. 329, 8 Ex. G-1 at 65–66). However, for the remaining 8.7 hours, Attorney Kasparek billed for 9 air travel but failed to describe the services performed during that time. (Doc. 329, Ex. G- 10 1 at 66, 68, and 69). Consequently, Attorney Kasparek has not shown that he is entitled to 11 recover those 8.7 hours billed during air travel time. Accordingly, the Court finds the 8.7 12 hours unreasonable, and will reduce the reasonable hours component of the lodestar 13 calculation accordingly. 14 vii. 15 The Reasonableness of Attorney Kasparek's Hourly Rate 16 MPC has not objected to the reasonableness of Attorney Kasparek's $200 hourly 17 rate and Attorney Kasparek has complied with Local Rule 54.2(d)(4)(B) (requiring, "as 18 appropriate," a discussion of "the comparable prevailing rate") (Doc. 329, Exs. G, M). 19 Accordingly, the Court finds Attorney Kasparek's rate of $200 per hour reasonable and 20 will use this rate in its lodestar calculation. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 viii. Lodestar Calculation of Attorney Kasparek's Reasonable Fees For the efforts of Attorney Kasparek, Pang's motion for attorneys' fees seeks recovery of 619.1 total hours of time at the rate of $200 per hour. As detailed above, the Court has found a total of 47.7 of those hours unreasonable. Accordingly, the Court finds Pang entitled to recover the remaining 571.4 hours at the rate of $200 per hour. These sums yield a final lodestar calculation of $114,280. Because there is a "strong presumption" that the lodestar is the reasonable fee, Del. Valley Citizens' Council for - 20 - 1 Clean Air, 478 U.S. 546 at 565, the Court finds $114,280 in total attorneys' fees, 2 expenses, and costs claimed for Attorney Kasparek reasonable. 3 ix. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Along with attorneys' fees, Pang has requested recovery of $4,701.23 for certain non-taxable related expenses. (See Doc. 329, Exs. G-1, G-3). Under the Local Rules, Pang must "identify each related non-taxable expense with particularity." L.R. Civ. 54.2(e)(3). Furthermore, "[c]ounsel should attach copies of applicable invoices, receipts, and/or disbursement instruments. Failure to itemize and verify costs may result in their disallowance by the court." Id. (emphasis added). 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 In reviewing the record, the Court notes that Pang separately identified each related non-taxable expense in its itemized statement. (Doc. 329, Ex. G-1 at 6, 10, 15, 17, 21, 26, 28, 31, 35, 37, 72; G-3 at 8–9). However, Pang has failed to attach copies of applicable d. instruments. Total Calculation of Award Amount Rae Richardson: $975 Renee Slagter: $2432 Timothy Kasparek: $114,280 23 Related Non-Taxable Expenses: $0 24 28 disbursement Attorneys' Fees, Costs, and Expenses: 22 27 and/or expenses. 21 26 receipts, Without such find the $4,701.23 in related non-taxable expenses reasonable, and will not award these 20 25 invoices, documentation, the Court cannot verify these expenses. Accordingly, the Court does not 18 19 Attorney Kasparek's Related Non-Taxable Expenses Total: $117,687 // // // // - 21 - 1 IV. CONCLUSION 2 Accordingly, 3 IT IS ORDERED GRANTING in part and DENYING in part Pang's Third 4 Motion for Attorneys' Fees, Costs, and Expenses (Doc. 329), and awarding Pang a total 5 of $117,687 in attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses, as described above. 6 Dated this 19th day of March, 2014. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 - 22 -


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Q: Python - split strings inside array I have an array that looks something like this:
arr1 = ["1", "2", "3 4", "5 6 7", "8"]

and I want to, somehow, split the strings with spaces in them turning this array into this:
split_arr1 = ["1", "2", "3", "4", "5", "6", "7", "8"]

Note: The split array does not have to be in order
Thank you!

A: Iterating the input list and using split:
arr1 = ["1", "2", "3 4", "5 6 7", "8"]
output = []
for item in arr1:
    output.extend(item.split())

print(output)  # ['1', '2', '3', '4', '5', '6', '7', '8']

For each entry in the input list we call extend on some output list (initially empty).  This will add each element from splitting e.g. "5 6 7" as a new separate entry in the output list.

A: You could do this using nested list comprehension:
arr1 = ["1", "2", "3 4", "5 6 7", "8"]

split_arr1 = [split_item for item in arr1 for split_item in item.split()]
# ['1', '2', '3', '4', '5', '6', '7', '8']

A: A very simple solution:
arr1 = ["1", "2", "3 4", "5 6 7", "8"]

split_arr1 = list("".join(arr1).replace(" ", ""))

Explanation:

*

*Join all strings into one string -> "123 45 6 78"

*Remove any white spaces -> "12345678"

*Split each character -> ['1', '2', '3', '4', '5', '6', '7', '8']

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Attend Stories From Flanders Fields: Perspectives on the Great War Centennial on December 11, 6pm. The event will bring together different viewpoints on telling the history and conserving the heritage of the First World War in Flanders, Belgium. This seminar will consist of brief lectures by each of the guest speakers whose distinct backgrounds will render differing views of the war effort which took place in Flanders Fields from 1914 until 1918 and will enlighten the audience about the historic manifestation of the Great War as well as intimate experiences of soldiers at the Front.


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Joe Biden Reportedly Frustrated With His Pick To Handle COVID-19 Vaccine Roll Out
President-Elect Joe Biden has promised to give 100 million Americans the COVID-19 vaccine in the 100 days following his Inauguration.
Beyond logistical and administrative concerns that saw the Trump administration only giving out 6.7 million vaccines over a month, a Politico report states Biden lacks confidence in his Covid coordinator, Jeff Zients.
Reportedly, Zients and his deputy often give Biden a big-picture idea of how they will handle the vaccination efforts. The President-elect, however, wants specific details about how exactly they plan on ramping up vaccination efforts.
Even if Zients is the man for the job, there are still concerns about Biden keeping General Gustave Perna in his role as chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, despite his failure to vaccinate 20 million Americans by the end of December as promised.
Steep Hill To Climb
When President-Elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20, a timer starts on his promise to give 100 million Americans the COVID-19 vaccine in 100 days.
The Trump administration made a similar promise in December when it promised 20 million vaccinations by the end of the month. It only managed 2.6 million. As of January 8, only 6.7 million Americans have been vaccinated.
Many of the current issues that are plaguing Trump's vaccination effort are likely to continue into the Biden administration. For one, sending out millions of vaccines is a logistical nightmare. On top of that, it's the states, not the federal government, that often control the practical implementation of vaccinations.
Currently, many states are struggling with vaccinations. For example, in Florida, seniors – who are the first in line for a vaccine in the state – have found that the distribution has been chaotic and unorganized.
To tackle the issue, Biden has appointed Jeff Zients, known as President Barack Obama's "problem fixer," to be his Covid coordinator. However, a Politico report says Biden is frustrated with how Zients is handling the situation.
With his business background, Zients and his deputy, Natalie Quillian, often give the President-elect a big-picture idea of how they will handle the vaccination efforts. However, the President-elect, as a long-time government official, wants specific details of how exactly they plan on ramping up vaccination efforts ten-fold.
That is all behind-the-scenes reports because officially, Zients has the support of Biden. His transition spokesman reiterated this to reporters, saying, "Jeff Zients is the right person for the job and wakes up every day focused on how to vaccinate every single American as quickly as possible, and the President-elect has full confidence in the plan he and his team are putting forward to get that done."
Trump Officials Continuing Role Into Biden Administration
Even if Zients is the man for the job, there are still concerns about Trump officials being kept in charge. Biden has decided to keep General Gustave Perna in his role as chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed.
Perna is the official who promised 20 million vaccinations by the end of December 2020 and barely got 2.6 million out.
At the same time, Perna has on-the-job experience. Losing that could put the incoming administration even further behind their plans. Although, failing to get 100-million vaccines in 100-days may not actually be a failure.
In fact, it's been pointed out that the goal helps states have an idea of Biden's expectations and will pressure them to more quickly roll-out vaccinations.
Cases are constantly increasing in the U.S., and hospitals are largely unable to handle the number of incoming patients. The country has had 22.5 million cases of COVID-10 and over 374,000 deaths, making it the leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2020.
See What Others Are Saying: (Politico) (CNN) (NPR)
Related Topics:BidenCOVIDcovid vaccinecovid-19 vaccineFeaturedgus pernajeff zientsPresident BidentrumpVaccine
Three Lawmakers Test Positive for COVID-19 Following Capitol Attack
Capitol Officer Used Himself as a Distraction To Lead Mob Away From Elected Officials During Insurrection Attempt
The fury comes after Xbox announced it was slightly altering existing consoles to better utilize and save energy.
Same War, New Battlefield
Mere days after M&M canceled their "spokescandies" due to backlash from the right, led largely by Fox News' Tucker Carlson, conservatives have found a new front for their ongoing culture war: Xbox.
Carlson spent months complaining that small character redesigns were "woke" because they made the animated anthropomorphized M&M's — in his own words — "less sexy." His campaign finally proved successful on Monday when the company announced it would be doing away with the spokescandies and replacing them with actress Maya Rudolph.
A message from M&M'S. pic.twitter.com/EMucEBTd9o
— M&M'S (@mmschocolate) January 23, 2023
Conservatives, now facing a sudden dearth of non-issues to complain about, quickly found a new issue to rage against. Xbox announced in a blog post earlier this month that it is making minor updates to lower its environmental impact as part of an effort to reach Microsoft's goal of being carbon-negative by 2030.
Now, instead of having an Xbox wake up to update games, apps, and software during random times of the night, it will do that at a time of night when a user's local energy grid is generating the most power it can from renewable sources.
Xbox also said it would automatically update some older consoles to a power-saving mode that aims to reduce electricity consumption when it is turned off — a feature that is already the default on newer consoles.
According to The Verge, the only difference for users is that an Xbox in power-saving mode takes around 15 seconds to boot up instead of doing so immediately as the console does in "sleep" mode. The change is a small price to pay for what the outlet described as "significant" energy savings.
Xbox Under Fire
To many leading conservative voices, the minimal shifts were just another example of "woke" culture.
While discussing M&M's spokescandies Tuesday morning, "Fox and Friends" co-host Ainsley Earhardt brought up Xbox's new changes with Fox radio host Jimmy Failla.
"So Xbox has also announced that they're going woke too, you know, because of climate change," Earhardt said.
"I mean, it's crazy what they're doing, but we understand what this is. It's not that it's actually going to offset emissions, okay — the level of reduction is infinitesimal," Failla claimed, without evidence. "But they're trying to recruit your kids into climate politics at an earlier age; make them climate conscious now."
"Yeah, I didn't think of that — you're right, they're going after the children," Earhardt agreed, despite the fact that internal data from Microsoft shows just around 10% of Xbox owners are under the age of 18.
Other prominent conservatives also did their part to bait Americans into anger on social media, including America's Foundation, which posted a tweet stating that "the woke brigade is after video games."
Lol now the woke brigade is after video games all in the name of climate change.
Xbox will force gamers to power down to fight climate change, touting the first 'carbon aware console' https://t.co/wIwbCTh2Zy
— YAF (@yaf) January 24, 2023
The post linked an article from the right-wing website TheBlaze, which asserted that "Xbox will force gamers to power down to fight climate change." That, however, is false — Xbox has said users can switch back and change the settings any time they want
Still, top lawmakers continued to share the article and spread its false claims, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.).
"First gas stoves, then your coffee, now they're gunning for your Xbox," he wrote in the post, which was flagged by Twitter and given an "added context" warning.
First gas stoves, then your coffee, now they're gunning for your Xbox. https://t.co/MpaH2ntWAz
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 23, 2023
The same warning, however, was not placed in a very similar post by Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Tx.), who also shared the article.
"They want to take your guns. They want to take your gas stoves. And now they want to take your Xbox. What's next?" he wrote.
https://t.co/fG89KrqAMN
— Congressman Troy Nehls (@RepTroyNehls) January 23, 2023
See what others are saying: (The Washington Post) (The Daily Beast) (VICE)
Allegations include staff kicking a fourth-grader and dragging a child with autism around by his leg.
Abuse Allegations
Washington State's Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has launched an investigation into a system of private schools for kids with disabilities after ProPublica and the Seattle Times reported on allegations of abuse.
The series of articles focused on Northwest School of Innovative Learning (NWSOIL). NWSOIL is a set of private schools that serve 500 Washington public school students with serious disabilities. ProPublica and the Seattle Times found years of complaints from parents and school districts against NWSOIL alleging abuse, overuse of isolation rooms, and unqualified aides teaching instead of certified professionals.
One district claimed NWSOIL staff kicked a fourth-grader. Another alleged that a child with autism was dragged around by his thigh.
Many former NWSOIL employees also claim that they were pressured by their parent company to to enroll more students and skimp on basic resources, like staffing.
Investigation Launched
In a seven-page letter, OSPI reminded NWSOIL of its authority to revoke or suspend a school's approval, meaning that it could shut NWSOIL down.
"Given the serious nature of the allegations made in the articles, OSPI is examining what, if any, actions need to be taken with respect to Northwest SOIL's approval to contract with Washington school districts," Tania May, assistant superintendent for special education at OSPI, wrote in the letter.
OSPI has demanded any records of mistreatment, maltreatment, abuse, or neglect as well as documents pertaining to restraint or isolation of students and calls to the police. They are also seeking information about the student-to-teacher ratio and staff qualifications.
In the letter, OSPI claims that all of this was previously unknown to them as well as to police, Child Protective Services, and local school districts. They are asking NWSOIL for an explanation as to why the allegations were not reported.
NWSOIL defended itself in a public statement.
"Use of restraints and seclusion are always used as a last response when a student is at imminent risk of hurting themselves or others," it said. "We strongly deny any allegation that we understaff and/or pressure staff to increase admissions in order to maximize profits."
Washington state representatives are considering a reform bill that will give them more oversight on the publicly funded system of private special education schools.
In this legislation, OSPI and at least one district that sends students to this program would be required to visit before approving the contract. It would also standardize district agreements with programs like NWSOIL, including financial safeguards to make sure funds are being used appropriately.
See the full series: (ProPublica) (The Seattle Times)
Just since Saturday, at least 19 people have been killed and 17 have been injured in mass shootings in California.
California Sees Third Attack in Under a Week
Two California localities experienced separate mass shootings Monday, just days after an attacker killed 11 and injured nine others in a suburb of Los Angeles.
The first of the most recent shootings took place in Half Moon Bay, a small coastal town about 30 miles outside of San Francisco, where a gunman killed seven and critically injured an eighth at two different locations.
According to authorities, police were dispatched to the first location around 2:20 pm and found four people shot to death and a fifth victim also suffering gunshot wounds. Shortly after, three more people were found dead at another site nearby.
About two hours later, police discovered the suspect in his car in the parking lot of a San Mateo County Sheriff's Office substation with a semiautomatic handgun in the vehicle that officials later confirmed he had purchased legally.
Sheriff Christina Corpus said the man was taken into custody "without incident" and is "fully cooperating." He has been identified as a 66-year-old Half Moon Bay resident of Asian descent.
Currently, the gunman's motive is unknown, but the Sheriff told reporters Monday that both of the locations he targeted were nurseries, and it has since been reported that they were mushroom farms.
"All evidence we have points to this being an instance of workplace violence. The Mountain Mushroom Farm, the first location, is where the subject was employed," Corpus said in a press conference Tuesday, though she added that, so far, the "only known connection between the victims and the suspect is that they may have been coworkers."
As of writing, it remains unclear why he targeted the second location. A mushroom farm called Concord Farms has told reporters that it was the site of the second shooting — which a law enforcement official confirmed to The Washington Post.
In a statement to the media, a spokesperson said the farm had "no past knowledge" of the alleged gunman or his possible motives. Little has been released about the victims, though Corpus said Tuesday they were all adults and a "mixture of Asian and Hispanic descent," some of whom were migrants.
Authorities had previously stated that, because people both live and work on the farms, children were among those who witnessed the shooting. However, on Tuesday, one official walked that back and said while children were indeed in the vicinity, police do not have information about specific witnesses.
Just hours after the violence in Half Moon Bay, seven people were injured, and one other was killed during a shooting at a gas station in Oakland. Very little has been reported about the incident, but police have said that the shooting was "between several individuals."
Renewed Calls for Gun Control
Californians continue to reel from the rapid succession of mass shootings in a state known for its strict gun control laws.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates against gun violence, the state ranks No. 1 in the country for gun law strength. An analysis led by the organization found that California has the sixth-lowest rate of gun ownership and the eighth-lowest gun death rate.
Many of California's top lawmakers have argued that the state's relatively low gun violence statistics emphasize the need for more federal regulations.
"The Second Amendment's becoming a suicide pact," Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told CBS News in an interview.
"We'll continue to find whatever loopholes we can and continue to lead the national conversation on gun safety reform. And the data bares out. It works. It saves lives," he continued. "California's 37% lower than the death rate of the rest of the nation, and yet, with all that evidence, no one on the other side seems to give a damn. I can't get anything done in Congress."
Following the Monterey Park shooting, U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Ca.), alongside other Democratic colleagues, introduced two gun control bills in the upper chamber. The first would ban assault weapons, while the second aims to raise the minimum age to purchase assault weapons from 18 to 21.
President Joe Biden quickly threw his support behind the measures, urging Congress to pass them.
"The majority of the American people agree with this commonsense action," he said in a statement Monday. "There can be no greater responsibility than to do all we can to ensure the safety of our children, our communities and our nation."
Editor's Note: At Rogue Rocket, we make it a point to not include the names and pictures of mass murders, suspected mass murderers, or those accused of committing violent crimes who may have been seeking attention or infamy. Therefore, we will not be linking to other sources, as they may contain these details.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl