At Stake Were Rights In Songs, Including “YMCA.” This one will stir up memories for a lot of you readers around the age of co-contributors Marc and Mike, probably like us watching “The Village People” perform on Saturday Night Live. Victor Willis, the original lead singer of “The Village People,” prevailed in […]
N.D. Cal. District Judge Orders Segan LLC To Pay $1.9 Million Under Octane Fitness/Highmark. Last week, N.D. Cal. District Judge Vince Chhabria ordered Segan LLC to pay $1.9 million in fees to Zynga, Inc. for Segan’s filing of a “totally unreasonable” patent infringement suit over character icons that can interact with websites. He
$755,925.86 Is Total Fee/Costs Award Against Large Audience Display. As we have discussed in many posts, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Octane Fitness, LLC v. ICON Health & Fitness, Inc., 134 S.Ct. 1749 (2014) has been a real game changer as far as increasing the case-by-case discretion conferred on district judges to
No Basis For Fees Under Lanham Act “Exceptional Case” Fee Shifting, With Fee Reductions Made For Partner Heavy Staffing, Inefficiencies, Unsuccessful Work Effort, And The Fee-Shifting Policy Underlying Copyright Act. Beastie Boys sued Monster Energy Company for copyright and trademark (false endorsement) infringement against Monster Energy Company, the maker of the Monster
$390,149.63 In Fees/$32,231.23 In Costs Is SLAPP Recovery To Wynn Opponent. After defendant James Chanos won a SLAPP motion against well-known resort developer Steve Wynn/Wynn Resorts, he moved to recoup $538,043 in attorney’s fees and $52,656.23 in costs. U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick of the Northern District of California allowed $390,149.63 in
However, “Prevailing” Landlord Did Not Garner 998 Postoffer Expert Fees or Get More Fees, In Case Implicitly Founded “Over Litigated” By Lower Court—With Landlord Trying To Get $365,000-$387,000 In Fees. If you have followed us over the years (we thank you for those that have, hoping we have provided some insights, or welcome
The Orange County Register’s “Celebrity Watch” reports that U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest ordered figure skater Oksana Baiul to pay at least $35,000 in legal fees to NBC Universal Media and NBC Sports Network for bringing a frivolous suit last year. The district judge indicated Ms. Baiul made “wild claims” for tens of
Recently, Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry, who probably did not feel very adored, was ordered by a Los Angeles family law judge to pay her ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry—pursuant to an agreement between the two sides–$300,000 in attorney’s fees to cover the costs of their child custody dispute. She also was ordered to pay Mr.
“Reverse” Unity of Interest Argument Did Not Dictate Different Result. Civil Code section 3344.1, California’s right to publicity statute, does contain a mandatory fee-shifting clause in favor of the prevailing party, with attorney’s fees and costs being the carrot for such a party. The next case involves an interesting procedural situation in a
Divorce “Boondoggle” Likely Will Not End Until Sometime in 2013. As reported today by Timothy Mangan in the “People” section of The Orange County Register, Kim Kardashian’s attorney told a judge in the Kris Humphries divorce action that her firm had already spent $250,000 on the case in the wake of Mr. Humphries’
