The attorneys for same-sex couples who successfully challenged Texas’ gay marriage ban in federal court are seeking nearly three-quarters of a million dollars in fees and costs from the state.
In a 27-page motion filed Friday, attorneys from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in San Antonio asked U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia to award them $720,794 in fees and $20,203 in costs.
Akin Gump represented two same-sex couples in De Leon v. Perry, which was filed in October 2013 and resolved pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26 ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. Under federal law, prevailing parties in civil rights cases are typically eligible for fees and costs.
“Our task on behalf of our clients was to attack and uproot unjust laws that were tightly embraced by the entire elected statewide leadership of Texas, a state with virtually unlimited resources to defend those unjust laws,” Akin Gump’s Neel Lane, the lead attorney in the case, wrote in a declaration supporting the motion. “Had the State of Texas not deprived our clients of their constitutional rights, they in turn would not have had to engage attorneys, and this motion for attorneys’ fees and costs would have been unnecessary. If the State is not held accountable for the legal costs it caused to be incurred, then it will be more likely to engage in similar objectionable conduct in the future.”
You may think that sounds like a lot of money, but as the Chron story points out, the plaintiffs’ attorneys bent over backwards to minimize it.
The filing breaks down the requested costs, including more than 1,700 hours in work by the couples’ attorneys. The costs they seek to recoup are appropriate, the filing said, in part because attorneys repeatedly chose not to bill – or billed at a reduced rate – during the case.
“Plaintiffs exercised substantial billing judgment in their requested fees,” the filing states. “For instance, Plaintiffs declined to include the work of more than 15 attorneys and paralegals who provided short-term assistance during the case.”
Attorneys also cut their hourly rates – from $980 an hour to $500 an hour for attorney Barry Chasnoff, for example – and chose not to bill more than 700 hours of work they could have included in their estimated costs, the filing stated.
Judge Garcia gets to decide whether to award fees – as noted, this is usually what happens when the plaintiffs prevail in a civil rights case – and if so how much. It’s in his discretion to reduce the amount if he sees fit. The state will of course oppose this motion, and as we know from the ongoing redistricting saga, they will fight it to the ends of the earth and back again. So don’t expect this to be wrapped up neatly or quickly.
As a taxpayer, hopefully the judge knocks down the amount of the judgment, but Texas should indeed pay. Maybe Gov. Abbot will donate his salary to help pay for a judgment against the state that he is responsible for. I won’t hold my breath. Instead, maybe I will calculate how many potholes could have been filled, or books for schools could have been purchased with that money.
No kidding! The political pandering to fight unwinnable legal battles just to front for political gain is crazy but frankly, I don’t think the judge should reduce the judgement if the article is correct.
Its not just the state or republicans mayor parker is currently fighting me tooth and nail over my attorneys fees on an open records lawsuit. Parker = Perry on the attorney fees issue.
PK, no argument here. What open records were you trying to obtain? (if it’s not a state secret of sorts)
Believe it or not it is a left over from the Open Records lawsuit. We are still not through.
Click the link.
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-supreme-court/1695105.html
I thought that was done and settled, my bad. It’s sad when self described progressives who would holler and wail if a records request they made were denied or held up, act like they are doing right by holding back such records.