IN THE NEWS . . . . $1.9 Million In Fees Assessed Against Plaintiff In Unsuccessful Patent Infringement Case And Dov Charney Loses Effort To Obtain Advancement Of Defense Fees In His Standstill Proceeding Fight Against American Apparel

 

N.D. Cal. District Judge Orders Segan LLC To Pay $1.9 Million Under Octane Fitness/Highmark.

    Last week, N.D. Cal. District Judge Vince Chhabria ordered Segan LLC to pay $1.9 million in fees to Zynga, Inc. for Segan’s filing of a “totally unreasonable” patent infringement suit over character icons that can interact with websites.  He found the case was “exceptional” for purposes of fee-shifting under Octane Fitness/Highmark.

Delaware Chancellor Rules Dov Charney Not Entitled To Advancement Of Defense Fees In Standstill Proceeding Fight With American Apparel.

    Last Friday, in Charney v. American Apparel, Inc., C.A. No. 11098-CB (Memorandum Opn. filed 9/11/15, accessible on this link), Delaware Chancellor Bouchard nixed Dov Charney’s request for advancement of the defense fees he has incurred in a Standstill Proceeding dispute with American Apparel, Inc.  Among other things, Chancellor Bouchard determined that advancement was not required under American Apparel’s Indemnification Agreement because the Standstill Proceeding did not implicate any use or abuse of power by Mr. Charney as a fiduciary within the meaning of indemnification provisions.