Karl Hunter v. Fidelity

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
KARL HUNTER,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
FIDELITY CREDITOR SERVICE, INC., a
California corporation,
Defendant-Appellee.
No. 18-55747
D.C. No. 2:17-cv-05432-RGK-AS
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
R. Gary Klausner, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted March 12, 2019**
Before: LEAVY, BEA, and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges.
Karl Hunter appeals from the district court’s entry of default judgment in his
action alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) and
the Rosenthal Act. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review for
clear error the factual determinations underlying an award of attorney’s fees and de
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
FILED
MAR 19 2019
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

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novo the legal premises a district court uses to determine an award. Camacho v.
Bridgeport Fin., Inc., 523 F.3d 973, 977 (9th Cir. 2008). We affirm.
The district court did not err in determining attorney’s fees pursuant to a
local rule because Hunter presented no adequate evidence on the reasonableness of
the attorney’s fees award. See Vogel v. Harbor Plaza Ctr., LLC, 893 F.3d 1152,
1159 (9th Cir. 2018) (explaining that in a default judgment, if a party seeks to
avoid the fees set forth in a local rule, it must show that the requested fee is
“reasonable” under the lodestar method).
Contrary to Hunter’s contention, the district court was not required to hold
an evidentiary hearing on actual damages. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2)(B) (the
district court “may conduct hearings . . . when, to enter or effectuate the judgment,
it needs to: . . . determine the amount of damages” (emphasis added)).
AFFIRMED.

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