Malaro et al. v. Roger Wilkie, Jr., Builder, Inc.

United 	States 	District Court
District 	of Massachusetts
Magie Malaro, 	et 	al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
Roger Wilkie, 	Jr., 	Builder,
Inc.,
Defendant.
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Civil Action No.
22-10548-NMG
MEMORANDUM 	& ORDER
GORTON, 	J.
In 	S eptember , 	2025 , 	this 	Court 	entered 	de f ault 	judgment 	in
this 	construction 	contract 	case 	i n 	favor 	of 	plaintiffs 	Magie 	and
Anthony 	Malara 	(collectively , 	" Malaros " 	or 	" plaintiffs " ) 	against
de fenda nt 	Roger 	Wilkie , 	Jr ., 	Builder , 	Inc ., 	( " RWB " 	or
" defendant " ) . 	The 	Court 	instr uc ted 	t h e 	parties 	to 	submit
briefing 	on 	the 	calculation 	of 	damages . 	Now 	p endin g 	before 	the
Court 	is 	plaintiffs ' 	motion 	for 	award 	of 	damages 	and 	attorneys '
fees 	(Docket 	No . 	133) .
Plaintif f s 	have 	reques t ed 	$196 , 026 	in 	compen satory 	damages ,
to 	be 	trebled 	under 	M. G. L . 	ch . 	93A , 	§8 , 	pre-judgment 	interest 	at
a 	rate 	of 	12 % per 	annum 	and 	attorneys ' 	fees 	and 	co sts 	in 	the
amount 	of 	$284 , 768 . 	For 	the 	following 	reas o ns , 	the 	motion 	will
be 	allowed , 	in 	part , 	and 	denied , 	in 	part .
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I. 	Damages 	Award
After 	consideration 	of 	plaintiffs ' 	motion 	for 	award 	of
damages 	(Docket 	No . 	133) 	and memoranda 	in 	support 	of 	and
opposition 	thereto 	(Docket 	Nos 	134 , 	147 	and 	170) , 	the 	Court
finds 	that 	plaintiffs 	are 	entitled 	to 	compensatory 	damages 	in
the 	amount 	of 	$196 , 026 . 	Tho se 	damages 	will 	be 	doubled 	pursuant
to 	M. G. L . 	ch . 	93A , 	§8 , 	for 	a 	total 	award 	of 	damages 	in 	the
amount 	of 	$392 , 052 .
Further , 	under 	M. G. L . 	ch . 	231 , 	§6C , 	the 	prevailing 	party 	in
a 	contract 	action 	is 	entitled 	to 	interest 	on 	damages 	in 	the
amount 	of 	12% 	per 	year 	from 	the 	date 	of 	the 	breach . 	If 	such
date 	is 	not 	established , 	intere st 	is 	to 	be 	calculated 	from 	the
date 	of 	the 	commencement 	of 	the 	action . 	Pre - judgment 	interest
is 	calculated 	on 	the 	base 	compensatory 	damages 	and 	not 	the
punitive 	multiple . 	Greene 	v . 	Philip 	Morris 	USA 	Inc ., 	491 	Mass .
866 , 	885 	n . 22 	(2023) .
The 	current 	action 	commenced 	on 	April 	13 , 	2022 . 	Plaintiff
will 	therefore 	be 	awarded 	pre - judgment 	interest 	at 	a 	rate 	of 	12%
per 	annum 	on 	$196 , 026 	from 	that 	date 	through 	the 	date 	of 	this
order .
II. 	Attorneys' 	Fees
With 	respect 	to 	attorneys ' 	fees , 	Massachusetts 	follows 	the
American 	rule 	and 	denies 	recovery 	of 	fees 	absent 	a 	contract 	or
contrary 	statute . 	In 	re 	Volkswagen 	& Audi 	Warranty 	Extension
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Litig ., 	692 	F . 3d 	4 , 	21 	(1st 	Cir. 	2012) . 	Plaintiffs 	contend 	that
they 	are 	entitled 	to 	reasonable 	fees 	under 	Fed . R . Civ . P
3 7 ( b) ( 2) ( C) 	and 	2 8 	U. S . C . 	§ 19 2 7 . 	Rule 	37 (b) (2) (C) 	requires 	a
court 	to 	award 	reasonable 	expenses 	related 	to 	a 	party ' s
noncompliance 	with 	a 	court 	order , 	while 	§1927 	allows 	a 	court 	to
impose 	personal 	sanctions 	on 	attorneys .
The 	Court 	concludes 	that 	an 	award 	of 	attorneys ' 	fees 	is
unwarranted 	in 	this 	case . 	While 	plaintiffs 	are 	correct 	that 	the
Court 	found 	defendant 	to 	have 	disregarded 	it s 	orders , 	the 	remedy
for 	such 	violations , 	entry 	of 	summary 	judgment 	in 	plaintiffs '
favor , 	is 	sufficient 	to 	address 	that 	misconduct . 	An 	award 	of
attorneys ' 	fees 	in 	this 	case 	is 	unwarranted . 	Furthermore , 	even
if 	such 	an 	award 	were 	appropriate , 	plaintiffs 	have 	not
demonstrated 	how 	the 	requested 	fees 	are 	related 	to 	defendant ' s
noncompliance . 	The 	request 	for 	attorneys ' 	fees 	incurred 	in 	this
case 	is 	overbroad 	and 	will 	be 	denied .
Moreover , 	the 	record 	· n 	this 	case 	does 	not 	warrant 	the
imposition 	of 	personal 	sanctions 	against 	de fe ndant ' s 	attorneys
under 	§1927 .
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ORDER
For 	t he 	forgoing 	reaso ns , 	plaintiffs ' 	motion 	f or 	award 	of
damages 	(Docket 	No . 	133) 	i s , 	with 	respect 	to 	damages 	and 	pre -
judgment 	interest , 	ALLOWED, 	and , 	with 	respect 	to 	attorneys '
fees , 	DENIED. 	The 	Court 	awards 	plaintiff s 	compensatory 	damages
in 	the 	amount 	of 	$196 , 026 , 	which 	will 	be 	doubled 	for 	a 	total
award 	of 	$39 2 , 052 . 	P lai ntiffs 	are 	a l so 	awarded 	pre - judgment
interest , 	at 	a n 	annual 	rate 	of 	12% , 	to 	be 	calculated 	on 	the
compensatory 	da mages 	awa rd ed 	($196 , 026) 	from 	April 	13 , 	2022 ,
through 	th e 	date 	of 	thi s 	order .
So 	ordered.
Na t n anielM.GorYo n
Sen ior 	United 	States 	District 	Judge
Dated : 	Marc h.2.0 , 	202 6
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