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Mealey's Attorney Fees

  • October 02, 2025

    ESOP Participant Prevails In Arbitration, Seeks Confirmation Of Award, Fees

    PHOENIX — An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) participant who filed a putative class complaint but was forced into individual arbitration asked an Arizona federal court on Oct. 1 to confirm an $11,029.50 arbitration award and to confirm an order directing the defendants to pay $2,359,909 in attorney fees incurred during the arbitration proceedings and $132,310.97 in arbitration costs.

  • October 01, 2025

    Federal Circuit: Multiple Errors In Hookless Curtain Infringement Findings

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel issued a mixed opinion Sept. 30 in a long-running intellectual property dispute over hookless shower curtains, affirming a New York federal judge’s findings that one appellant company infringed multiple patents but vacating or reversing findings that another appellant company infringed the patents; the panel also vacated trademark and trade dress infringement findings against the appellant companies and set aside attorney fees.

  • October 01, 2025

    11th Circuit Affirms Fees In 5th Consideration Of Commodores Mark Appeal

    ATLANTA — Considering an appeal related to the case for the fifth time, an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel upheld a Florida federal judge’s decision to award attorney fees in “protracted litigation” involving trademarks related to the funk band The Commodores against one of its founding members who formed groups with similar names after departing from the group.

  • October 01, 2025

    Indiana High Court Disciplines Attorney For Fee-Related ‘Professional Misconduct’

    INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Supreme Court issued a 60-day suspension from the practice of law for an attorney it found to have “engaged in professional misconduct” involving unreasonable attorney fees.

  • September 30, 2025

    Judge Remands Suit Against Nicotine Pouch Sellers, Denies Attorney Fees

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal judge granted a nonprofit health group’s motion to remand its lawsuit accusing two companies that sell Zyn nicotine pouches of false marketing to the District of Columbia Superior Court after finding that federal jurisdiction does not exist over the case and denied the nonprofit’s motion for attorney fees.

  • September 30, 2025

    Hawaii High Court Affirms Attorney Fee Denial In Inverse Condemnation Row

    HONOLULU — Handing down “a question of first impression” ruling it said is in accord with “the unanimous position of other states that have considered the issue,” the Hawaii Supreme Court upheld denial of attorney fees in an inverse condemnation case based on sovereign immunity.

  • September 29, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms Court’s Denial Of Insured’s Request For Attorney Fees

    SEATTLE — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s denial of an insured’s motion for attorney fees and costs after the court granted the insured’s motion to remand a coverage dispute arising from a shooting at the insured’s apartment complexes, finding that the insured’s characterization of the insurer’s “notice of removal as a fabrication and a misrepresentation of fact is a bridge too far.”

  • September 29, 2025

    Judge Rules For Final Insurer In Bad Faith Suit Arising From Construction Defects

    DENVER — A federal judge in Colorado granted the last remaining defendant insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a  plaintiff insurer’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking recovery of the defense and settlement costs that it paid on behalf of its general contractor insured in an underlying construction defects lawsuit but denied the defendant insurer’s request for attorney fees because the lawsuit was not frivolous.

  • September 26, 2025

    Judge OKs Additional Attorney Fees In Settlement Between City, Protesters

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge has approved a stipulation under which New York City will pay an additional $750,000 in class counsel fees and costs as part of a previously approved $13.73 million settlement between the city and a class of approximately 1,380 individuals who were arrested or arrested and subjected to force by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) during protests in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd.

  • September 26, 2025

    Consumers’ Attorney Fees Theory Doesn’t Create Jurisdiction, 9th Circuit Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — Writing that consumers would need to incur $4.3 billion in attorney fees to meet the jurisdictional amount in controversy requirement, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel vacated a lower court’s dismissal on the merits of the consumers’ putative class action against the maker of Kleenex-brand “Wet Wipes” for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and on remand directed dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.

  • September 26, 2025

    Lincoln University Settles Pandemic Tuition, Fees Class Suit For $169,500

    PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania university will pay $169,500 to end a student’s class suit alleging that the school was unjustly enriched after it failed to issue prorated refunds for tuition and fees after the campus closed during the coronavirus pandemic.

  • September 26, 2025

    $8.25M Class Deal Ends ERISA Recordkeeping Case After Release Adjustments

    BOSTON — Following last-minute adjustments suggested by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and an independent fiduciary, a Massachusetts federal judge on Sept. 25 granted final approval to an $8.25 million class settlement that resolved an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over a retirement plan’s allegedly excessive recordkeeping fees.

  • September 25, 2025

    LTD Insurer Wins On Setoff, But Claimant Gets Attorney Fees Of Over $460K

    NEW YORK — After a second bench trial on the stipulated record in a case challenging termination of long-term disability (LTD) benefits, a New York federal judge resolved calculation issues largely in favor of the insurer and resolved an attorney fee dispute in favor of the claimant.

  • September 25, 2025

    Likely AI Use Leads To $24,492 In Attorney Fees, Costs As Sanction In Soccer Spat

    SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A federal judge partially granted motions seeking attorney fees and expenses incurred responding to more than 50 fake citations in briefing he believed shows the use of artificial intelligence, saying he hoped the $24,492.10 he imposed as a sanction would act as a deterrent.

  • September 25, 2025

    Illinois Supreme Court Reverses Fees Judgment In Sovereign Immunity Spat

    SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Reversing a judgment that required an Illinois state agency to pay $10,639.21 in attorney fees and costs under the Illinois Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act (Confidentiality Act), the full Illinois Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion finding that the lower court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because there was no “express statutory waiver of sovereign immunity in” the Confidentiality Act.

  • September 24, 2025

    Judge Approves $300,000 Settlement In Securities Action Over False Statements

    BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A federal judge in New York granted final approval of a $300,000 settlement in a securities class action brought by investors against an aerospace-based  communication network product company and two of its executives that alleged that the company provided materially false and misleading statements about its production yields and their impact on the company’s revenue growth.

  • September 24, 2025

    Judge Talks Attorney Fees Justification In Granting Final OK To $7.9M ERISA Deal

    NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Devoting several pages to explaining why he overruled the lone objection to awarding a third of the $7.9 million class settlement for attorney fees, a Connecticut federal judge granted final approval to the deal resolving an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case concerning alleged underperformance that the plaintiff claimed was caused by a now-bankrupt hedge fund management company directing all the assets of its 401(k) plan into proprietary hedge and mutual funds that used “alternative” investment strategies.

  • September 23, 2025

    Magistrate Judge OKs Attorney Fees In Case Where She Ordered LTD Claim Remanded

    SAN FRANCISCO — Saying in part that the balance of the considerations outlined in Hummell v. S.E. Rykoff & Co. supports the request, a California federal magistrate judge granted the requested $139,770 in attorney fees and costs in a long-term disability (LTD) case where she previously concluded “that the plan did not follow the administrative rules or apply the correct plan definition” and remanded “without ordering reinstatement of the policy or an award of retroactive payments.”

  • September 19, 2025

    Nicaragua Wins Summary Judgment On $1.5M Attorney Fees And Costs Award

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted the Republic of Nicaragua’s motion for summary judgment against parties that were ordered by a tribunal to pay Nicaragua $1.5 million in attorney fees and arbitration costs after their treaty-based claims against it were rejected but said Nicaragua must obtain default judgment against two other defendants and voluntarily dismiss its claims against other non-appearing defendants that have not yet been served.

  • September 18, 2025

    Hawaii Supreme Court Applies PAG Doctrine In Awarding Attorney Fees

    HONOLULU — Applying Hawaii’s private attorney general (PAG) doctrine in consolidated cases, the Hawaii Supreme Court ordered developers of condominium hotel projects to pay attorney fees and costs totaling $112,721.10 to a labor union that filed cases the court said established “important legal principles” regarding the Hawaii Environmental Policy Act (HEPA) “and related regulations that benefit many in our state.”

  • September 18, 2025

    Settlement Of Over $20.5M Wins Final OK In Medical Benefits For Retirees Case

    SAN FRANCISCO — Noting that the claims relied “on evidence of oral misrepresentations and a lack of written plan amendment purporting to terminate the at-issue retiree medical benefits,” a California federal magistrate judge granted final approval to a $20,545,000 settlement under which the average gross recovery for members of the opt-out settlement class is estimated at $30,710.01.

  • September 17, 2025

    Chinese Law Firm’s Client Seeks More Time To Answer $765K Attorney Fees Award

    SEATTLE — The former client of a Chinese law firm now allegedly residing in Washington state on Sept. 16 filed an unopposed motion in Washington federal court for an extension of time to respond to the firm’s petition to confirm a Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA) award worth more than $765,000 in unpaid attorney fees.

  • September 17, 2025

    Insurer Has No Duty To Pay Attorney Fees In Coverage Suit, Panel Rules In Reversal

    INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana appeals panel reversed a lower court’s finding that an insurer has a duty to provide coverage for attorney fees incurred by the plaintiff in a coverage dispute arising from a workplace injury, concluding that the attorney fees that the plaintiff incurred in bringing the present lawsuit are not defense costs “because of” the underlying action.

  • September 16, 2025

    Federal Judge Reduces Fees Insurer Must Pay In LTD Case To Just Over $314,000

    MINNEAPOLIS — Saying in part “that counsel claims quite a large number of hours for tasks that likely could and should have taken less time,” a Minnesota federal judge who ordered that a long-term disability (LTD) claimant be paid a total of $741,085.31 in retroactive benefits and prejudgment interest also granted reduced attorney fees of $314,440.29 and reduced costs of $2,698.15.

  • September 16, 2025

    $95 Million Settlement Of Siri Eavesdropping Class Action Gets Final Approval

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A California federal judge gave a final OK to a $95 million settlement of a six-year-old class action accusing Apple Inc. of collecting unauthorized recordings of Apple device users via its Siri digital assistant, deeming the settlement “fair, adequate, and reasonable.”