Al-Qarqani v. Chevron Corporation
- Jeffrey White
- 4:18-cv-03297
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Al-Qarqani v. Chevron Corporation, Judge White granted respondents’ fee motion, ordering Edward Chung to pay $268,283.85 in fees and interest.
Attorney Edward Chung must pay Chevron Corporation and Chevron U.S.A. Inc. $268,283.85 in attorneys’ fees and prejudgment interest under the order.
What happened
In Al-Qarqani v. Chevron Corporation, the Ninth Circuit had ordered attorney Edward Chung to reimburse the respondents for fees connected to his filing of a fabricated newspaper article and related proceedings. The Ninth Circuit sent the fee calculation to the district court.
The respondents requested $251,313.72 in attorneys’ fees. The court found that they supported the request and that the fees were reasonable. It also awarded $16,970.13 in additional interest for the delay in receiving payment.
Judge Jeffrey S. White granted the respondents’ motion. The order requires Mr. Chung to pay the respondents $268,283.85 total.
The detailed version
- Al-Qarqani v. Chevron Corporation · No. 4:18-cv-03297
- Jeffrey White
- Oct. 24, 2023
Background
The Ninth Circuit ordered attorney Edward Chung to reimburse the respondents for attorneys’ fees incurred in responding to Mr. Chung’s filing of a fabricated newspaper article and the proceedings that followed. Under Circuit Rule 39-1.8, the Ninth Circuit transferred to this district court the task of determining the proper amount of the fee award.
Fees and prejudgment interest
The respondents submitted attorney declarations and supporting evidence requesting $251,313.72 in fees. The court found that the respondents had met their burden of supporting the request and that the fees were reasonable.
The court also concluded that the respondents were entitled to prejudgment interest, meaning interest compensating them for the time value of money tied up during the litigation. It used the prime rate and adopted the calculations in paragraphs 7 through 15 of Anne Champion’s declaration. The court awarded $16,970.13 in prejudgment interest.
Ruling
The court granted the respondents’ motion for attorneys’ fees as a compensatory sanction. Judge Jeffrey S. White ordered Mr. Chung to pay the respondents $268,283.85, consisting of $251,313.72 in fees and $16,970.13 in prejudgment interest.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.