What is the test for determining attorneys' fees in a personal injury action?
The following excerpt is from World Trade Ctr. Disaster Site Litig. Christopher Cirino v. City of N.Y., Docket No. 10-1377 (Con.), Docket No. 10-1378 (Con.), Docket No. 10-1379 (Con.), Docket No. 10-2765 (Con.), Docket No. 10-2794 (Con.), Docket No. 10-2795 (Con.), Docket No. 10-3172 (XAP), Docket No. 10-3175 (XAP), Docket No. 10-3176 (XAP), Docket No. 11-0355 (Con.), Docket No. 11-0392 (Con.), Docket No. 11-0411 (Con.), Docket No. 11-3902 (Con.), Docket No. 11-3903 (Con.), Docket No. 11-3925 (Con.), Docket No. 11-3933 (Con.), Docket No. 11-3937 (Con.), Docket No. 11-4021-cv (L), Docket No. 11-4313 (XAP), Docket No. 11-4317 (Con.), Docket No. 11-4365 (XAP), Docket No. 11-4379 (XAP), Docket No. 11-4410 (XAP), Docket No. 11-4502 (XAP), Docket No. 11-4800 (XAP), Docket No. 11-4888 (XAP), Docket No. 12-2960 (Con.), Docket No. 12-2963 (Con.), Docket No. 12-2964 (XAP), Docket No. 12-2974 (Con.), Docket No. 12-2977 (XAP), Docket No. 12-2998 (Con.), Docket No. 12-3025 (XAP), Docket No. 12-3042 (Con.), Docket No. 12-3185 (Con.), Docket No. 12-3186 (XAP), Docket No. 12-3254 (Con.), Docket No. 12-3282 (Con.) (2nd Cir. 2014):
First, plaintiffs' counsel did not submit any evidence of the number of hours they worked. Indeed, the attorneys represented to the district court that they "didn't have any records" of the number of hours expended. The district court observed that "none of these firms apparently maintained time records." Without time records, the district court was unable to calculate the lodestar to do a "cross check" on the reasonableness of the fees. See Goldberger, 209 F.3d at 50; see also Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433 (1983) (evidence of hours worked is "most useful starting point" in determining reasonable attorneys' fees).
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