Lema v. BTS Holdings, LLC, Docket No. A-3465-16T1 (App. Div. Jan. 18, 2019)

Attorney’s fees awarded to successful plaintiff under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination can be reduced by the court based upon a finding of an unreasonable rejection of pre-verdict settlement offer.

After a four-day trial, a jury awarded the plaintiff $5,000 on her retaliatory discharge claim brought under the NJLAD and $2,982.59 in lost wages. Plaintiff’s counsel then sought an award of legal fees of $360,588 and costs of $8,282.56. The trial court rejected the request but awarded $57,054 in fees and $5,367 in costs. The court reduced the fee and cost entitlement based upon the finding that the fees were excessive (i.e., four attorneys attended the trial for the plaintiff on what the court indicated was a “straight forward” case). Further, in affirming the order reducing the fee award, the appellate division held that the trial court could properly consider the plaintiff’s unreasonable rejection of an offer of settlement.

 

Case Law Alerts, 2nd Quarter, April 2019

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