A recent Law 360 story by Michael Phillis, “Texas Court Rejects $14M Fee Bid After $21M IP Verdict,” reports that a Texas federal judge said that both sides were off-base in a fight over attorney fees after a jury found an EchoStar Corp. unit liable for $21 million for infringing on a defense contractor's satellite network patent.  The court rejected both Israel-based contractor Elbit Systems' request for nearly $14 million in fees and EchoStar unit Hughes Network Systems' calculation that it should owe only about $300,000.  Elbit said the high fee award was merited because of an alleged pattern of Hughes' misconduct, while Hughes said it should only have to pay fees for litigation misconduct specifically cited in a prior court order, including allegations it ignored discovery orders.

"To avoid becoming 'a green-eyeshade accountant,' the court orders the parties to meet and confer and file a joint notice consistent with the parameters set forth in this order," U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III said.  The order knocked arguments made by both sides in their joint motion to quantify attorney fees, which was filed in July.  The judge said the diverging amounts took into account either too little or too much of the case.

Judge Schroeder said Hughes' request for a smaller fee award — based on its argument that it should only be responsible for the four "specific acts" mentioned in a prior court order — didn't consider the full extent of the litigation misconduct.  "Elbit is entitled to fees that 'bear some relation to the extent of Hughes' misconduct,'" the court said.  "And, as the court found, that misconduct was extensive — affecting more than the four specific acts of misconduct or even the 22 acts Elbit listed as examples of misconduct."

Judge Schroeder also said Elbit's request was effectively for a "full fee award," with few exceptions.  But Elbit did not demonstrate a proper connection between "its fee request and Hughes' misconduct," and that link was needed, the judge found.  "Because Elbit's conduct does not justify a full-fee award, the court would need to go through Elbit's bills line-by-line to identify the fees Hughes' misconduct caused," the order said.  And since the judge has no interest in taking on that task, he told both sides to get together and within two weeks' time file a notice explaining the fees that Hughes' misconduct caused.