A recent Law 360 story by Carolina Bolado, “Judge Says Google Should Get Atty Fees In $90M RICO Win” reports that a Florida magistrate judge agreed with Google that it should be awarded attorney fees for prevailing in a $90 million Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act lawsuit over an allegedly blacklisted website owned by conservative individuals, but recommended slashing Google's fee request because the case was resolved quickly and was uncomplicated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart said Google LLC's request for $202,205 was excessive given the fact that the case was resolved at the motion to dismiss stage in 14 months and involved no discovery, and said an award of $145,455 is more appropriate.  The magistrate judge also took issue with the hourly fees being requested by Google's attorneys, which he said are "excessive by current Palm Beach County standards" and suggested reducing them.

Google asked for fees after the dismissal of plaintiff DJ Lincoln Enterprises Inc.'s suit was upheld by the Eleventh Circuit on appeal in January.  In its suit, St. Lucie, Florida-based DJ Lincoln, which described itself as a closely held, family-owned business, accused Google of blacklisting its website SeniorCare.com and intentionally demoting its ranking in search results because it is owned by conservatives.

Google moved for attorney fees under the fee-shifting provisions of Florida's RICO and FDUTPA statutes, but Judge Reinhart recommended that fees be awarded only under the state RICO law after finding that there was no evidence DJ Lincoln brought the FDUTPA claim in bad faith.