Matlink v. Home Depot
& Lowes (S.D. Cal. 2008)
Matlink sued the big box retailers for infringement of its patent covering a supply re-ordering system. After some discovery "stonewalling," the district court awarded attorney-fees to the defendants for their time wasted on a motion to compel. Here, the attorney fees were calculated based on the rates charged by the defendant's three Southern California Winston & Strawn attorneys:
Partner with 15 years experience | $630 per hour |
Associate with 6 years experience | $455 per hour |
Associate with 1 year experience | $280 per hour |
In awarding fees, the court found these rates "not … excessive in this context."
A similar situation recently arose in Quantronix v. Data Trak (D. Minn 2008). There, the district court looked at the hourly billing rates for several Salt Lake City patent litigators from the Trask Britt firm:
Partner with 15 years experience | $350 per hour |
Associate with 3 years experience | $195 per hour |
Associate with 2 year experience | $175 per hour |
The Quantronix court found these rates reasonable as well. "Considering the experience levels of the individuals on the Quantronix billing statements and the Court's own experience with and knowledge of prevailing rates in this market, the Court finds that the hourly billing rates submitted by Quantronix are reasonable and commensurate with the rates of other attorneys in this area with similar knowledge and practice experience."
When Richmond based attorneys from Troutman Sanders requested attorney fees earlier this year, they used the following rate chart:
Partner with 20 years experience | $350 per hour |
Partner with 14 years experience | $350 per hour |
Thomas & Betts Power Solutions v. Power Distrib., Inc., (E.D. Va. 2008).
The Florida IP firm of Allen Dyer requested similar rates in AC Direct, Inc. v. Kemp (M.D. Fla. 2008)
Founding partner with 40 years experience | $325 per hour |
Attorney with 6 years experience | $190 per hour |
The AC Direct court found those rates reasonable. "In the Court's experience, the rates charged by the attorneys and paralegals assigned to this case are within the range of reasonable legal fees for the Orlando, Florida marketplace. Further, the fees are appropriate given the level of skill displayed in this case."
Notes:
- I saw the original report of Matlink in the Docket Navigator; The other cases were found in Westlaw.
