$8.6 Million and $3.1 Million Defense Fee Recoveries Affirmed on Appeal.
For those of you wanting to justify substantial fee awards under Civil Code section 1717, Linear Technology Corp. v. Tokyo Electron, Ltd., Case No. H035713 (6th Dist. Nov. 22, 2011) (certified for publication) is must reading.
There, in a breach of contract action claiming defendants did not back up patent infringement indemnities, plaintiff lost and one set of defendants was awarded $5,200,931.62 (out of a requested $8,616,419.37) in attorney’s fees while another set of defendants garnered $3,145,498 (out of a requested $3,258,757) in fees. Plaintiff appealed.
However, the appellate court affirmed the fee awards under the reciprocity principles at play under contractual fees clauses and their complementary statutory authorization, section 1717. The purchase agreements did have a fees clause, and “[a] prevailing defendant should not be required to undergo a mini-trial to establish the merit of the losing plaintiff’s hypothetical fee claim under the contract on which the plaintiff sued.” (Slip Opn., p. 12.)