Example: Attorney Fee Recovery for Frivolous Legal Claims

A recent NJ case illustrates what can happen when lawyers file frivolous claims to appease rich clients. In this case, a billionaire hired attorneys from two different firms to sue his 85 year old former father in law in an attempt recover funds allegedly promised to his ex-wife, by her father, before she died. Although the complaint could have been filed in good faith, it could not have been pursued in good faith after certain critical facts were established with respect to when and how the alleged promise was made. Despite facts such that “no competent attorney could have missed the frivolous nature of [the case].” Plaintiff's counsel pursued the matter using bare-knuckle methods that “crossed the boundary of appropriate litigation tactics.” Although those tactics were not technically part of the basis for the award, the fact that the Court found them worth mentioning is instructive as to the risk one takes when attempting to compensate for a weak or non-existent case with tactics that multiply the costs of litigation. (At least that’s how the Court saw things. The attorneys in question, not surprisingly, insist that they did nothing wrong and have stated that they intend to appeal the ruling.)

Although the amount of the recovery was not immediately quantified, the defense attorneys estimated that it would be several million dollars. Assuming that an attorney fee recovery in that range is upheld on appeal, two obvious lessons present themselves. First, attorneys can pay dearly for pursuing legally unsupportable actions, and need to consider that risk when evaluating the demands of a client they might otherwise think they can’t afford to say no to. Second, cases that at first seem too expensive to defend may not be. If the other side’s position is sufficiently egregious, an award of attorney fees can make a legal victory an economic victory as well.


The information contained in this blog is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such. For legal advice or for answers to specific questions, please contact the blog's author.