RICHARD E. FEHLING, Bankruptcy Judge.
The Chapter 7 Trustee ("Trustee") of the bankruptcy estate of Debtor, Red Rock Services Co., LLC ("Red Rock"), initiated this adversary proceeding to collect $1,667,945, plus attorneys' fees, costs and interest, from Suffolk Construction Company, Inc. ("Suffolk"). Trustee alleged that Suffolk refused or failed to pay Red Rock for certain demolition services provided to Suffolk on a construction project, known as the Silo Point project, near Baltimore, Maryland. Suffolk's answer to Trustee's second amended complaint set forth several affirmative defenses, including a setoff defense arising from Red Rock's failure to perform its obligations on a second construction project, known as the McCormack project, in Boston, Massachusetts. Suffolk's answer also requested attorneys' fees, costs and interest.
After an eight day trial and the parties' submission of post-trial proposed and reply findings of fact and proposed and reply conclusions of law, I entered a Memorandum Opinion on August 30, 2012 finding that: (1) Suffolk owed Trustee $1,156,909.46 on the Silo Point project; and (2) Red Rock owed Suffolk $852,201.83 on the McCormack project.
Both Trustee and Suffolk filed their respective requests for attorneys' fees and costs and their briefs in support thereof on October 10, 2012.
Both Trustee and Suffolk base their request for attorneys' fees and costs upon the prevailing party provisions contained in the Silo Point and McCormack subcontracts executed between them. Trustee bases his attorneys' fees and costs request upon paragraph 8.16 of the Silo Point subcontract, see Joint Exhibit J-2 at p. 11, ¶ 8.16, while Suffolk bases its attorneys' fees and costs request upon paragraph 8.16 of the McCormack subcontract, see Joint Exhibit J-44 at p. 14, ¶ 8.16. Both paragraphs are identical and state:
Because I found that Suffolk owed Trustee $1,156,909.46 on the Silo Point project, I conclude that Trustee is the prevailing party on the dispute between the parties under the Silo Point subcontract. Trustee is therefore entitled to attorneys' fees and costs under paragraph 8.16 of the Silo Point subcontract. See Congressional Hotel Corp. v. Mervis Diamond Corp., 200 Md.App. 489, 28 A.3d 75, 81 n. 3 (2011) ("In the context of an award of attorney's fees, a litigant is a `prevailing party' if he succeeds `on any significant issue in litigation which achieves some of the benefit the parties sought in bringing suit.'" Royal Inv. Group, LLC v. Wang, 183 Md.App. 406, 961 A.2d 665, 695 (2008) quoting Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433, 103 S.Ct. 1933, 76 L.Ed.2d 40 (1983)).
Likewise, because I found that Red Rock owed Suffolk $852,201.83 on the McCormack project, I conclude that Suffolk is the prevailing party on the dispute between the parties under the McCormack subcontract. Suffolk is therefore entitled to attorneys' fees and costs under paragraph 8.16 of the McCormack subcontract. See Northern Assocs., Inc. v. Kiley, 57 Mass.App.Ct. 874, 787 N.E.2d 1078, 1083-85 (2003) (for purposes of determining whether a party is a "prevailing party" under the terms of a contract provision awarding attorneys' fees to the "prevailing party", court finds that one or both parties may "prevail" in the enforcement of rights or remedies under a contract); Bardon Trimount, Inc. v. Guyott, 49 Mass.App.Ct. 764, 732 N.E.2d 916, 927 (2000) (prevailing party is party in whose favor judgment is entered).
As a preliminary matter, Suffolk argues that even as a prevailing party, Trustee is limited in his collection of attorneys' fees to the contingent fee arrangement originally proposed by Trustee and his special counsel in Trustee's Application to Employ Herrick, Feinstein, LLP as Special Litigation Counsel Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 327 filed on March 6, 2009. I explained in my July 18, 2012 Memorandum Order Denying Trustee's Application To Modify Terms of Retention of Herrick Feinstein, L.P., however, that neither my March 19, 2009 Order approving Herrick Feinstein's employment as special counsel to litigate the Silo Point dispute nor my March 23, 2010 Order approving Herrick Feinstein's employment as special counsel to litigate the McCormack dispute referred to, adopted, or approved the contingent fee arrangement. No approved contingent fee
Both Trustee and Suffolk argue that the attorneys' fees requested by their opponent are not reasonable. Neither party, however, presented any evidence during the November 19, 2012 hearing that was scheduled to be held on the parties' attorneys' fees submissions. I heard no evidence from either party about rates, number of hours, lack of necessity for taking certain actions, or any other aspect of their fee applications. Instead, only oral argument was taken. As a result, no record was made concerning the unreasonableness of either party's attorneys' fee request. I therefore reject both parties' arguments attacking the reasonableness of their opponent's attorneys' fee request and find that neither Trustee nor Suffolk established the unreasonableness of any fees.
I therefore find that the attorneys' fees and costs requested by both Trustee and Suffolk are reasonable, given the factual and legal complexities of this case, the high level of skill required to try this case properly and efficiently, the amounts involved in this dispute, and the great amount of time required to litigate this case to its present posture.
An appropriate Order follows.
AND NOW, this 2 day of January, 2013, upon my consideration of the Memorandum Opinion and Order I entered on August 30, 2012, which resolved the substantive merits of this adversary proceeding and upon my consideration of the Memorandum Opinion I entered today, which resolved the requests for attorneys' fees and costs submitted by the parties, and upon the findings of fact, conclusions of law, and discussion in the Memorandum Opinion,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that JUDGMENT IS HEREBY ENTERED IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFF, TRUSTEE, AND AGAINST DEFENDANT in the amount of $1,156,909.46 on the Silo Point project.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that JUDGMENT IS HEREBY ENTERED IN FAVOR OF DEFENDANT AND AGAINST PLAINTIFF, TRUSTEE, in the amount of $852,201.83 on the McCormack project.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant may offset the $852,201.83 it is owed by Plaintiff against the $1,156,909.46 it owes to Plaintiff, Trustee, to arrive at a net recovery of $304,707.63 in favor of Plaintiff, Trustee.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff, Trustee's Motion for an Award of Attorneys' Fees and Costs is HEREBY GRANTED and Plaintiff, Trustee, is awarded attorneys' fees in the amount of $959,287.50, expert costs of $56,064.57 and other costs and disbursements of $71,791.65, for a total award of $1,087,143.72, all of which it may recover as the prevailing party from Defendant pursuant to Paragraph 8.16 of the Silo Point subcontract.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant's Application For Attorneys' Fees and Costs is HEREBY GRANTED and Defendant is awarded attorneys' fees in the amount of $514,294.67 and costs in the amount of $78,549.73, for a total award of $592,844.40, all of which it may recover as the prevailing party from Plaintiff, Trustee, pursuant to paragraph 8.16 of the McCormack subcontract.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant may offset the $592,844.40 in fees and costs it is owed by Plaintiff against the $1,087,143.72 in fees and costs it owes to Plaintiff to arrive at a net recovery of $494,299.32 in fees and costs in favor of Plaintiff.
Trustee takes issue with the fact that Suffolk did not take affirmative legal action to actively pursue its claim against the bankruptcy estate, but instead only pursued its remedies against the estate through its setoff claim. I will not hold this against Suffolk or rule that it prevents Suffolk from being considered a "prevailing party" on its setoff claim, however, because as Suffolk explained, this was purely a defensive case for it. Suffolk had no expectations of receiving any money from the estate because the only asset of the estate was Trustee's claim against it.