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Hsia v. KAPG Hockessin

2026-06-30

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Opinion

majority opinion

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

The Estate of Shyuan Hsia, by and )

through Lynn Chao, Executrix and )

Personal Representative of the Estate )

of Shyuan Hsia, et al., )

)

Plaintiffs, )

v. ) C.A. No. N25C-04-270 FJJ

)

KAPG Hockessin Senior Housing )

OPCO, LLC, d/b/a The Summit, )

Hockessin Senior Housing I, et al., )

)

Defendants )

/Third-Party Plaintiffs, )

v. )

)

Kevin Kelly, Thomas Terranova, )

Timothy Terranova, et al., )

)

Third-Party )

Defendants. )

Submitted: June 9, 2026

Decided: June 30, 2026

ORDER

on Timothy Terranova and Thomas Terranova’s

Motion for Costs and Fees

1. On May 26, 2026 this Court entered an order awarding Timothy and

Thomas Terranova fees and costs. In that order the Court ordered the

Terranova’s to file a more detailed accounting of the fees and costs that they

were requesting. The Terranovas’ filed their supplement on June 9, 2026.

Defendant KAPG Hockessin Senior Housing OPCO, LLC d/b/a The

Summit (“Summit”) was afforded an opportunity to response to the

Terranova’s filing which it declined to do.

2. I award the Terranovas’ costs in the amount of $469.45. I have limited my

award for costs to court fees, courtscribes costs and process fees. In the

May 26, 2026 order, I advised the parties that when considering any award

for the costs of transcripts I would apply the same analysis that would be

applied to a request for transcripts post-trial. The Terranovas’ have shown

that the transcripts of the various witnesses being sought were part of the

record for the motion. While the two court transcripts relating first to the

original motion for judgment on the pleadings and the motion to amend the

complaint were a closer call, I choose not to award those costs because I do

not think they fall within the requirements of Rule 54(d). As for the medical

records and printing charges I also find that they do not fall within Rule

54(d).

3. As for the attorneys fees I have reviewed the materials submitted against the

factors set forth in Rule 1.5(a) of the Delaware Lawyers Rules of

Professional Conduct. I have considered the eight factors outlined in that

rule. I conclude that the time and labor required, the difficulty of the

questions involved and the skill requisite to perform the legal work was

undertaken by people with the appropriate level of expertise required to

complete the work. I find that this engagement prevented counsel from

taking on other matters. I further find that the hourly fee charged was more

than reasonable given the expertise of the timekeepers involved. I find that

the total amount of time and expense incurred when measured against the

result obtained justify the amount being requested. I find that the time

limitations imposed required the work to be done in the manner in which it

was done. I find that the experience level and reputation of the lawyers

seeking fees justified the rate being requested. In short, all of the factors

under Rule 1.5(a) support an award of fees in the amount of $63,277.50 and

I award that amount.

IT IS SO ORDERED

/s/ Francis J. Jones, Jr.

Francis J. Jones, Jr., Judge

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