District Judge Reduced Fee Request By 25%.
We can now report that the district judge in Stephanie Clifford v. Donald J. Trump, Case No. CV18-06893-SJO (FFMx) (C.D. Cal. Dec. 11, 2018 order) has finally decided what attorney’s fees are recoverable by President Trump’s attorneys in the defamation lawsuit brought by Stormy Daniels. President Trump had earlier prevailed on an anti-SLAPP motion under Texas law against the suit, because the district judge found that his tweets were rhetorical hyperbole and protected First Amendment opinions. Texas, like California, has a mandatory SLAPP fee-shifting provision in favor of the SLAPP-ing defendant.
President Trump had sought $389,403.11 in attorney’s fees. The district court did find that the Texas anti-SLAPP statute could encompass acts during the course of the entire litigation, given that they are related to work on the defamation claim. It did find that the claimed hourly rates of $307.60 for associates to $841.64 for partners were reasonable in nature.
However, the district judge did reduce the fee request by 25%, bringing the fee award to $292,052.33. He did so for two major reasons: (1) the defense could have used more highly qualified associates rather than partners to do some work; and (2) excessive work on some tasks had to be discounted.
Comments