Q: is there case law that supports reducing attorney's fees based on lost counts of a summary judgment?
Example: Defendant motions for summary judgment for 3 counts (fraud, breach of k, and negligence)after 1 year of litigation.The court rules in defendants favor for 2 of the 3 counts, ultimately after 1 more year of litigation the court finds for the Plaintiff on the remaining count and they award attorneys fees to the Plaintiff. Is there case law to support reducing the plaintiffs attorney's fees by 66.7% in the first year of the case?
A: No, but the amount of fees must be reasonable, and an argument can be made that the time and billing associated with the lost counts were not reasonable since the claims were rejected; therefore, some adjustment is appropriate. In the end, the amount of fees are left to the “sound judgment “ of the judge.
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