Donald Long v. Gordon Gill , 690 F. App'x 936 ( 2017 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MAY 10 2017
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
DONALD LONG, No. 14-35669
Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 6:11-cv-06284-MC
v.
MEMORANDUM*
GORDON GILL and LANE COUNTY
SHERIFF'S OFFICE,
Defendants-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Oregon
Michael J. McShane, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted May 8, 2017**
Portland, Oregon
Before: BYBEE and HURWITZ, Circuit Judges, and RAKOFF,*** District Judge.
Donald Long prevailed after a jury trial in this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit against
the Lane County Sheriff’s Office (“LCSO”) and a deputy sheriff arising out of the
*
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).
***
The Honorable Jed S. Rakoff, Senior District Judge for the U.S. District
Court for the Southern District of New York, sitting by designation.
towing of Long’s truck. After the district court amended its judgment to reduce the
damages and declined to award the full amount of counsel fees Long sought, he
appealed. We affirm.
1. The district court did not abuse its discretion in granting LCSO’s Rule
59(e) motion to amend the judgment. See McDowell v. Calderon, 197 F.3d 1253,
1255-56 (9th Cir. 1999) (en banc) (per curiam). The jury made separate damage
awards under both of Long’s theories seeking to impose liability on the LCSO under
Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978). But Long admits he
advanced only one Fourteenth Amendment claim, and therefore was entitled to
recover only once. See Experience Hendrix, L.L.C. v. Hendrixlicensing.com, Ltd.,
762 F.3d 829, 847-48 (9th Cir. 2014).
2. The district court also did not abuse its discretion in determining the
amount of attorney’s fees to award under 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b). The court need only
award fees “that it deems reasonable,” and may award less than the amount requested
if it gives “a specific explanation” for doing so. Moreno v. City of Sacramento, 534
F.3d 1106, 1111-12 (9th Cir. 2008). The district court reasonably found that this
case was “anything but complex,” and that the results obtained did not require two
attorneys.
AFFIRMED.
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