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Mealey's Attorney Fees

  • October 17, 2025

    2nd Circuit Affirms Fee Award Against Law Firm In Podcast Trademark Fight

    NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed an attorney fee award against a law firm that represented a technology company that brought trademark claims against a podcast company over the name of one of its shows, holding that the case was “exceptional” as described in the Lanham Act because the underlying suit was frivolous and brought in bad faith in pursuance of a settlement.

  • October 17, 2025

    In Fee Case, Colorado High Court Rules 6-1 That ‘Citizen’ Includes Newspaper

    DENVER — With the chief justice dissenting, the Colorado Supreme Court reversed and remanded a lower court’s judgment in a Colorado Open Meetings Law (COML) case, ruling in part that a newspaper “falls within the meaning of the word ‘citizen’” as used in the law “and is therefore entitled to seek attorney fees if it prevails in a COML action”; it also reversed a ruling that any attorney-client privilege concerning an executive session was waived.

  • October 15, 2025

    5th Circuit Remands Attorney Fees Issue In City Manager’s Race Discrimination Suit

    NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ordered a trial court to consider on remand an issue of attorney fees after partially reversing a trial court’s judgment following a jury verdict for the plaintiff in a race bias and breach of contract case brought by a fired city manager.

  • October 15, 2025

    Judge Orders Private Equity Fund To Pay Almost $3M In Withdrawal Liability Suit

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Noting his previous finding that a private equity fund counted as an employer under the withdrawal liability provision of the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA), a Missouri federal judge ordered the fund to pay nearly $3 million, including interest, liquidated damages and attorney fees.

  • October 14, 2025

    6th Circuit Affirms Contempt Finding In Kentucky Colonel Trademark Dispute

    CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Oct. 14 that a Kentucky federal judge did not abuse her discretion by holding a pro se appellant in contempt for failing to comply with a permanent injunction barring him from using a mark associated with the honorary title of “Kentucky Colonel.”  The panel also affirmed the judge’s decision to order the man to pay attorney fees and costs.

  • October 14, 2025

    11th Circuit Finds Sanctionable Conduct In Energy Drink IP Row But Vacates Award

    ATLANTA — An 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a Florida federal judge’s finding of bad faith against an energy drink maker’s counsel in a trade dress infringement dispute against rival drink makers, agreeing that the attorneys engaged in sanctionable conduct during the discovery process; however, the panel vacated the judge’s nearly $250,000 sanctions award, finding it to have been improperly calculated.

  • October 13, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms $4 Million Judgment Against Supplement Counterfeiters

    SAN FRANCISCO — A panel in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a California federal judge’s decision to award a supplement maker and its founder a $4 million judgment and nearly $5.3 million in attorney fees after entering default judgment against entities that the supplement maker accused of counterfeiting its products, finding that the appellant entities were not prejudiced by the judge’s decision to enter default judgment without considering the entities’ motions to set aside default.

  • October 10, 2025

    After Fees Award, LTD Insurer Drops Appeal Of Ruling That Doctor Is Due Benefits

    PHILADELPHIA — Weeks after the plaintiff in a long-term disability (LTD) benefits case was awarded reduced attorney fees of $117,297.50 by the trial court, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed the insurer’s appeal pursuant to a joint stipulation.

  • October 10, 2025

    Group Home Appeals No Coverage Ruling For Underlying Negligence Suit

    DULUTH, Minn. — The operators of a group home notified a Montana federal court that it is appealing the court’s holding that a commercial general liability insurer has no duty to defend them against an underlying negligence lawsuit and that they are not entitled to attorney fees, challenging the court’s ruling that no coverage was triggered because the underlying complaint alleges only mental injuries and not bodily injury, sickness or disease.

  • October 09, 2025

    Court: Expert Testimony Showed Evidence Hurricane Caused Damage, JNOV An Error

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida trial judge improperly “supplanted the jury’s role as factfinder” when he reweighed photographic evidence and granted an insurer’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) after a jury considered expert testimony and evidence to find that Hurricane Irma created a hole in a home’s roof, a state appeals court ruled Oct. 8.

  • October 09, 2025

    Justice Awards Attorney Fees In Legal World’s Latest ‘Unfortunate Chapter’ With AI

    NEW YORK — A lawyer’s error-riddled filings and initial failure to admit how they came to be add the latest “unfortunate chapter to the story of artificial intelligence misuse in the legal profession,” a New York justice said in awarding attorney fees and costs as a sanction.

  • October 09, 2025

    New York City Entitled To Fees, Costs In Climate Change Case, 2nd Circuit Affirms

    NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals majority ruled that New York City is entitled to attorney fees and costs that incurred litigating consumer protection claims brought against oil and gas companies that allegedly lied to consumers about the effects of fossil fuel products in affirming a New York federal judge’s ruling that was issued along with an order remanding the case to state court.

  • October 08, 2025

    Honeywell Defends Award Against Mexican Company For $33M Plus $20M In Fees

    NEW YORK — Honeywell International Inc. and its subsidiary filed a cross-motion in New York federal court to confirm an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) award worth more than $53 million including $20.9 million in attorney fees and costs against a Mexican construction company that has petitioned for vacatur, arguing that the award “is more than adequately reasoned” and that no grounds for vacatur apply.

  • October 08, 2025

    9th Circuit Cuts Police Officer’s Attorney Fee Award For City’s Retaliation

    PORTLAND, Ore. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 7 reduced by around $200,000 an award for attorney fees given to a police officer who sued Vancouver, Wash., for sex discrimination and retaliation after finding that a district court, though it properly reduced the award for the officer’s limited success at trial, was wrong to include work done on an unrelated case and erred in granting a request for a contingency award.

  • October 08, 2025

    Judge Tosses Athletics Fansite Copyright Suit Against Sports Fan Page Company

    ABERDEEN, Miss. — A Mississippi federal judge on Oct. 7 dismissed without prejudice a copyright infringement suit alleging that a company that maintains Facebook fan pages for U.S. professional and college sports violated the intellectual property rights of a Mississippi State University internet fansite, finding that the court lacks personal jurisdiction over the suit because the fansite failed to show that the fan page company is “subject to personal jurisdiction” in Mississippi.

  • October 08, 2025

    Valuation, Attorney Fee Issues Lead To Preliminary Denial Of Privacy Settlement

    PHOENIX — An Arizona federal judge denied preliminary approval of a proposed class settlement to resolve claims over a mental health provider’s alleged use of Meta’s Pixel to share patient data, holding that the agreement lacked evidence to establish its overall value and contained an attorney fee structure that was disproportionate to class recovery.

  • October 07, 2025

    Judicial Watch Founder To Seek Rehearing After Attorney Fees Petition Denied

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ousted Judicial Watch Founder Larry Klayman, who has been engaged in litigation with the public interest group for more than 19 years, filed a notice in the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 6 that he intends to seek rehearing after his petition challenging an attorney fees award was denied that day.

  • October 06, 2025

    Judge Clarifies Order Granting Homebuilder’s, Contractor’s Attorney Fees Motions

    ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida on Oct. 3 granted a homebuilder’s motion to clarify an order that adopted a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation granting the homebuilder’s and general contractor’s motions for entitlement to attorney fees following a summary judgment ruling in their favor in a commercial liability insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaration as to coverage for construction-related damages at a condominium development, clarifying the deadline for the parties to move for determination of amounts owed.

  • October 03, 2025

    9th Circuit Says Discretion Abused In Attorney Fee Award To Sam’s Club Worker

    SAN FRANCISCO — Citing a U.S. Supreme Court opinion, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found that a federal court in California “abused its discretion when it failed to provide a ‘concise but clear’ explanation for” an award of attorney fees to a Sam’s Club employee after she settled her claims that she was overworked and undercompensated while working for a six-week period in 2019.

  • 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.