A collection of legal fees news articles from the past week…
New York Politician Seeks Attorneys’ Fees (Albany Times Union) – Former New York State Senate Majority leader Joe Bruno is seeking state reimbursement of legal fees he incurred as a result of his prosecution for alleged felony corruption charges. A US Court of Appeals recently vacated the conviction, and under Section 19 of the Public Officer’s Law in New York, public officials are entitled to attorneys’ fees for charges they are acquitted of arising under a cause of action related to their office. The Bruno Defense Fund currently has incurred approximately $2 million in expenses, and have not yet stated how much they will submit to the state.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Remands $ 4 Million Attorneys’ Fees Judgment (LegalNewsline) – The Pennsylvania Supreme Court remanded a petition for attorneys’ fees down to the lower court after ruling it’s $4,000,000 judgment was excessive. The “lodestar” method of calculating legal fees was used by the lower court, who also provided for additional funds on top of that amount by way of an “enhancement.” The Supreme Court ruled that the additional enhancement was inappropriate. This action derived from a suit against KIA motors by plaintiff for faulty brakes. Class certification was granted as she alleged the defect was universal. $600 per class member was awarded as damages.
Vague Fee and Expense Entries Result in Reduction to Attorneys’ Fees by 15% (Sterling Analytics) In Klebe v. University of Texas Health Science Center, the plaintiff requested to be reimbursed for legal fees amounting to $422,604.04 and expenses totaling over $22,000. After conducting a review of the billing records submitted by plaintiff’s attorneys, the court deducted 15% of the time due to the attorneys’ failure to adequately describe tasks. Moreover, the court also deducted over $1,700 from the plaintiff’s request for expenses incurred during the litigation.
MSD Negotiates Lower Legal fees After Criticism (Courier–Journal) – In a story covered on both 7/13/2011 and 8/11/2011 by this website, the Metropolitan Sewer District has earned concessions by the Zielke law firm for the legal work in their bond issuance. The firm now will receive $100,000 less than they had requested for the offering, reportedly around $250,000. The district also has stated that the report and recommendations of their auditor will be completed by December 31st.
