A Collection of “Strange” Legal Fee Cases

 Posted by at 10:57 am  Interesting Fee Cases  Comments Off
Aug 082012
 

A collection of interesting legal fees cases …

$89,000 Legal Fee Approved Despite $500 Award (Daily Business Review) – A New York Judge awarded a woman nearly $89,000 in legal fees and expenses after she won a $500 judgment against the management of a Brooklyn housing development for its private police officers’ use of excessive force during her arrest.  Eastern District Judge Jack B. Weinstein issued the ruling in Brown v. Starrett City Associates on Jan. 9, 2012.  The woman, Annette Brown, was awarded the $500 after a jury found in her favor.  The jury was instructed to award Ms. Brown compensatory damages if her rights were violated and she suffered a “physical, emotional or financial injury” but to only award her $1 in nominal damages if she did not suffer an injury.  Although Ms. Brown is entitled to the $500 judgment, the $89,000 in legal fees will go to her attorney.  Continue reading »

Legal Fees at Center of Maricopa County Dispute with Law Firm

 Posted by at 11:08 am  Overbilling  Comments Off
Jun 052012
 

Maricopa County, home of controversial former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, recently contested the legal fees submitted by Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart P.C for work performed for the Sheriff and County Attorney’s Office over the past several years.  The county is currently withholding $1.1 million in payment of the total $5 million billed by Ogletree and as of February has used $645, 578 of the $1.1 million to litigate issues related to Ogletree. Continue reading »

Facebook Seeks Attorneys’ Fees Following Failed Lawsuit

 Posted by at 10:10 am  Interesting Fee Cases  Comments Off
May 302012
 

Earlier this Month, Facebook filed a request for over $700,000 in legal fees with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals following an unsuccessful lawsuit against the website by users outraged over the use of their names and images in the company’s ads.  The appeal seeks to overturn the U.S. District Court ruling that Facebook isn’t entitled to recoup their legal costs “as a matter of law” following the dismissal of the case, reports Media Post News. Continue reading »

Bi-Coastal Dog Custody Battle Racks Up Over $60K in Attorneys Fees

 Posted by at 12:15 pm  Interesting Fee Cases  Comments Off
May 252012
 

New Yorker Craig Dershowitz refuses to give up the custody battle over his pet “puggle” Knuckles (half pug, half beagle), even though he has already spent upwards of $60,000 in legal fees, reports the New York Post. The controversy began when Dershowitz’s ex-girlfriend took the dog with her when she moved across the country to California following their break up. Dershowitz’s court papers filed earlier this year in Manhattan claim that ex, Sarah Brega, “kidnapped” the dog that he considers to be his “son”. In an ongoing effort to get the dog back through legal channels, Dershowitz laments that he’s already spent almost his entire life savings. Continue reading »

New York Court Adopts Sterling Analytics’ Recommendation to Reduce Over $600,000 in a Fee Demand to $38,840

 Posted by at 10:49 am  Corporate Counsel, Court Decisions, Overbilling  Comments Off
May 242012
 

A New York trial court adopted Sterling Analytics’ expert opinion that a title insurer’s obligation to pay for the defense of a title action was not worth more than $600,000 in fees claimed by petitioner, but only $38,840 in “reasonable” fees. The action involved the defense of a dispute between a homeowner and the Village of Scarsdale concerning a strip of land adjoining the residence. The insurer had disclaimed coverage, but the court later found that a defense was required, resulting in a fee submission by the defense attorney to the title insurer for several years of defense work. Continue reading »

Flat Fee Arrangements Proposed by Municipality as a Fix to Overbilling

 Posted by at 10:25 am  Alternative Fee Arrangements, Overbilling  Comments Off
May 162012
 

State and municipal budget problems have been well documented over the last few years.  The last thing counties need are inflated legal bills. But that’s exactly what happened to Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.  According to the Times Leader, Luzerne County spent $334,000 on legal costs for parents in Children and Youth cases last year, more than twice their $125,000 budget.

A Times Leader investigation revealed that the high bills were at least in part due to improper attorney billing practices, including one lawyer who doubled billed the county for travel time. After being approached by a reporter, the offending attorney admitted her mistake, alerted the county, and hired a forensic accountant to audit her records. The audit revealed that the county had been overcharged by $59,042, largely due to the burden of a heavy case load and errors in the way bills were processed. Continue reading »

Legal Costs Create Bar to Bankruptcy for Nation’s Poorest

 Posted by at 11:28 am  Bankruptcy  Comments Off
May 092012
 

It’s that time of year again when many Americans receive their federal tax rebates in the mail, but an estimated 200,000 will be breathing a sigh of relief for a quite unexpected reason – their tax rebate will provide them with enough money to file for bankruptcy.  A recent joint study from the University of Chicago and Columbia University reported a dramatic spike in bankruptcy filings in previous years right after people received their tax returns.  According to CNN Money, the average cost of a Chapter 7 proceeding is over $1500; a price that many individuals, couples and businesses cannot afford. Continue reading »

Guaranteed Fixed-Fee Divorces for Britain’s Wealthy Couples

 Posted by at 3:31 pm  Alternative Fee Arrangements, Divorce  Comments Off
May 082012
 

In a business model somewhat foreign to attorneys here in the United States, Riverview Law, a corporate services firm specializing in fixed-fee billing, has rolled out a new divorce service with fixed-fee packages to minimize the unexpected legal costs of divorce. However – one aspect that should be familiar to stateside lawyers is that the top quality legal service supplied in this situation is unavailable to those without the means to afford it. The Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch reports that the service will include access to the nation’s best divorce attorneys at guaranteed prices; but only if your assets are worth an excess of £500,000.

Continue reading »

Netflix Class Action Settlement Results in Class Members Irate Over Attorneys’ Fees

 Posted by at 11:24 am  Court Decisions  Comments Off
May 032012
 

Members of a class of Netflix subscribers are so unhappy with the settlement result reached in an antitrust suit regarding Netflix’s marketing agreement with Wal-Mart that they have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to overturn it.  The settlement in the amount of $27.2 million gives plaintiffs’ lawyers over $8 million in legal fees; an amount the class members argue is in violation of federal law that requires the terms to be in the best interest of the class.  Continue reading »

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