$8 Million Is Total Billing Tab To Date. As reported by a recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune, United Effort Plan (UEP), a polygamous trust now controlled by the State of Utah (owning property in Utah, Arizona, and British Columbia), has been spending about $100,000 a month in attorney’s fees for attorneys […]
Neurovision/NuVasive Trademark Infringement Action. U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer (C.D. Cal.) recently denied Neutrovision Medical Products’ request for attorney’s fees against NuVasive, Inc. under the trademark “exceptional” circumstance Lanham Act fee-shifting statute. Neutrovision won a $300 million verdict infringement verdict, but District Judge Fischer believed NuVasive had potentially meritorious defenses and would not
Co-contributor Mike’s father-in-law Tom Basehart has provided his stash of news articles with tidbits of interest for our readers. Here is a synopsis of the articles he pulled, with some interesting trends—some in line with an improving economy and another not so much with respect to in-house corporate legal business. Three Elite New
Circuit Judge Posner Disturbed With Valuation, Reversion (“Kicker”) Clauses, And Convoluted Claim Forms. Circuit Judge Posner, on behalf of a 3-0 panel, authored an opinion in Pearson v. NBTY, Inc., Nos. 14-1198 et seq. (7th Cir. Nov. 19, 2014) in which a class action fee award was scuttled because it was too high—finding
VoxerNet Fee Recovery. On November 6, 2014, a California federal district judge awarded VoxerNet, an application development start-up company, $820,000 in attorney’s fees for prevailing in a voice mail patent infringement suit against it. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Octane/Highmark cases led to this ruling, with this precedential duology seeming to be used more
Stockton’s Bankruptcy Tab. Recently, a federal bankruptcy court has approved Stockton’s exit from bankruptcy in a Chapter 9 case. After about two years of work, the bankruptcy attorney tab for the Stockton bankruptcy has been reported to be around $14 million. Littler Mendelson’s Fee Motion Is Deficient, With The Firm Having to Pay
Formal Opinion 468 Is The Opinion In This Area. On October 8, 2014, the American Bar Association issued Formal Opinion 468, entitled “Facilitating the Sale of a Law Practice.” Among other things, it states that firms cannot bill for transitioning work in a sale of the law practice. Although this cannot be done
However, Spending On Outside Counsel Went Down 2% Worldwide. HBR Consulting, a legal business operations and technology consultancy, recently has issued its 2014 Corporate Law Department survey of 292 in-house legal departments (many of which are Fortune 500 companies). The results show that, for 2012-2013 on a worldwide basis, legal spending was
Videotape Deposition Copies, E-Discovery Expenses, and Interpreter Expenses Discussed. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, in Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Case No. 11-CV-01846-LHK (N.D. Cal. Sept. 19, 2014, Doc. 3193), ruled on Apple’s request for an award of “routine” costs—although the request was substantial—in the patent infringement litigation against Samsung involving smartphones
Protected Speech Case Finally Gets Resolved. Easton Area School District, which is in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania, has agreed to pay the ACLU, attorneys for plaintiff students, $385,000 in fees for successfully upholding students’ rights to wear “I (heart) Boobies!” bracelets to promote breast-cancer awareness. District claimed they were lewd, but
