A recent NLJ story, “MGA Defends $108 Million Fee Award in Bratz Fight, Documents Show” reports that MGA Entertainment Inc., which requested $161 million in attorney fees and costs following its $88.5 million verdict against Mattel Inc., has acquiesced to a special master’s recommendation that it collect $108 million in attorney fees, according to court documents.  In the unsealed documents released on Monday, MGA wrote that the legal fee award recommended by special master Robert O’Brien is “both fair and reasonable and supported by the record.”

Mattel has disputed O’Brien’s findings and demanded to look at the more than 9,000 pages of legal billing invoices that MGA turn over to the special master.  O’Brien recommended that Mattel pay $84 million to compensate MGA for defending Mattel’s copyright infringement claims and $23 million to cover legal fees associated with MGA’s trade secrets claims against Mattel.  Such an amount hardly amounts to a “windfall,” MGA wrote in court papers.

“MGA, in fact, spent significantly more than that amount in prosecuting its trade secret claims and defending against related and overlapping Mattel claims,” MGA wrote.  “Even combining this $23 million with the $84 million recommended by the special master on the copyright claims leaves MGA short of recovering all fees.  Moreover, through this litigation, Mattel was able to do significant harm to MGA and the Bratz brand, including the loss of many MGA jobs.”