Judge Doubles Attorneys’ Fees In Patent Case

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Judge Doubles Attorneys’ Fees In Patent Case


We wrote in June about the case of Lumen View Technology v. Findthebest, in which Judge Cote of the Southern District of New York awarded attorneys’ fees to FindtheBest under the new standard announced by the Supreme Court in its 2014 opinions in Octane Fitness and Highmark, after Findthebest successfully proved the invalidity of Lumen View’s patent.

For Lumen, the other shoe dropped last week, and it was an over–sized shoe—twice the usual size to be precise. In awarding fees, Judge Cote took the unusual, perhaps unprecedented, step of doubling the fee award to Findthebest. (HT: Docket Navigator) Judge Cote concluded that a doubling of the fees was appropriate in light of “Lumen’s predatory behavior,” i.e., filing suit in bad faith and then pressuring defendants to settle for less than the cost of defense rather than try the case on the merits. “Any award in this action,” wrote Judge Cote, “must be substantial enough to deter Lumen from pursuing baseless claims in the manner Lumen used in this case.”

Judge Cote noted in her ruling that she was not aware of any appellate ruling on the issue of enhanced attorneys’ fees in a patent case. If an appeal follows, one can assume this case will give the Federal Circuit an opportunity to speak on this question. Unless and until the appellate court reverses, however, Lumen will owe Findthebest just over $300,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs, or twice the cost of defense.

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