In The News

  Tri-City Healthcare District Ordered to Pay $29,000 in Fees for Partially Successful SLAPP Motion by Director Kathleen Sterling.      As reported by Nathan Scharn in a December 23, 2011 post at SignOnSanDiego.com, Tri-City Healthcare District has been ordered to pay $29,000 to director Kathleen Sterling for her partially successful SLAPP motion against claims in […]

  Wisconsin Passes into Law Presumptive Three Times Fee Cap.      Effective December 20, 2011, Wisconsin recently enacted legislation requiring judges to award attorney’s fees no more than 3 times damages in many cases. (2011 Wisconsin Act 92.) Although this cap establishes a presumptively reasonable fee award, a court can award a greater amount after

       Co-contributor Mike’s relative Tom Basehart has loaded us up with some more year-of-the-end articles having some interesting discussions on attorney’s fees, lawyer compensation, and impact of state court budget cuts. So, we share some of the highlights with you now. Tort Reform: Losers Pay, Capped Damages, and Other Reform Updates.      As reported

Situation Normal?       In a suit that may satisfy or send shudders to our readers (depending on what size practice you have and the hour requirements that are set for associates), a California lawyer–former associate Richard Unitan–has sued his ex-law firm because he could not meet an annual 3,000 hour quota. The basis of the

  Indio Olive Farmers Sidestep Fee Award in Hot-Air Balloonist Dispute.      As reported in a December 8, 2011 post by The Indio Sun, Indio olive farm owners do not have to pay more than $330,000 in attorney’s fees to hot-air balloonists they fought for two years based on the claims that the balloonists flew

  Gulf Oil Spill Class Action Request Stirs Up Some Emotions on Both Sides.      As reported by John Schwartz in a December 3, 2011 article in The New York Times, attorney members of the Deepwater Horizon (Gulf) oil spill class action multidistrict litigation against BP have requested a New Orleans federal district judge to

  Fee Request Was Ruled To Be Premature In Nature.      In a follow-up to our post of October 25, 2011, San Diego Superior Court Judge Linda Quinn denied a requested $756,132 in attorney’s fees under California’s private attorney statute by attorney Mario Gonzalez for winning a case challenging San Diego’s fireworks permitting process. She

  Even Fees/Costs Spent On Lost Claims Were Recoverable.      35 U.S.C. § 285 does allow district judges discretion to award attorney’s fees and costs in a patent infringement case that is “exceptional,” which usually means a determination that the litigation was brought and/or prosecuted in bad faith. This provision was used to award a

       As reported by Kathleen Wilson in a November 3, 2011 post at vcstar.com, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Henry Walsh granted the Ventura County Taxpayers Association’s request for fees, awarding it $30,855 (with a slight reduction of only about $2,500) for obtaining release of the names of six-figure county pensioners from the Board