Kentucky

Here is a link to the order and the article on Judge Tom McDonald's order in Ogburn v. McDonald's (Strip Search Hoax) which awarded the $2.4 million in attorneys fees among the various lawyers for the plaintiffs.  We have a link to the actual order and to the article by Andrew Wolfson in the Courier Journal. 

Although McDonald's attorneys objected and claimed the cumulative fees for the plaintiffs of $2.4 million was too high and that the $6.1 million verdict was only a "limited success" since the jury was asked to award $100 million, it is worthy of note that McDonalds paid its defense lawyers - $3.6 million and did not prevail!

• Ogborn_v_McDonalds_Order.pdf

  Extracts from the order:

  Further, the Court believes that there was true success in this action, not "limited success." The Court finds that Plaintiff enjoyed incredible success in this action, whether one looks at the whole case or just the compensatory award.  First there is the complete success measured by the fact that this jury was willing to place the blame squarely at McDonald's corporate feet. Prior settlements and verdicts would indicate that a million dollar-plus verdict for a non-physical injury civil rights claim Is an outstanding success. The previous high verdict in Bullitt County was one-fifth this compensatory award. The jury awarded Plaintiff every penny of her specials and over a million dollars in compensatory damages. It is clear that Plaintiff's counsel invested (in the words of Mr. Tachau) a "massive effort" in this case, but the Court would expect no less than the good lawyering to which Plaintiff was entitled.

  It is true that Plaintiffs counsel argued for a $100 Million compensatory award, and who can say that without that large an amount the jury may not have ended up where it did. Plaintiff's witnesses established that this case was a true success, and that advocates often consider a trial a significant victory depending on the venue and the facts even when the verdict or settlement is far less than "what they sued for." The Court also notes that parties and counsel frequently define "success" by comparison to settlement opportunities. McDonald's objected to Plaintiffs efforts to prove whether there were any viable settlement opportunities and presumably McDonald's would have been willing to prove this point had it indicated that the verdict grossly missed the mark.

  But in preparing a case, one never knows the jury ahead of time. A reasonable and dedicated advocate does what is necessary and reasonable to prepare the case to get the best possible results, even though that might have required a different jury, Additionally, there is no doubt that Plaintiffs counsel were forced to divide their attention at critical stages of the case due to the late delivery by McDonald's of discovery that had been sought, literally, for years, Hindsight might say that less should have been spent in terms of time or case expense, but at the time the proper decisions were made.

• Courier Journal Article in Courier Journal by Andrew Wolfson

  Judge orders McDonald's to pay attorney fees of $2.4 million in Ogborn case
  McDonald's to pay Ogborn $2.4 million
  
  A judge has ordered McDonald's Corp. to pay $2.4 million in attorney fees and costs to Louise Ogborn, the Bullitt County woman who last year won a $6.1 million verdict in her strip-search hoax lawsuit against the company.

  Citing Ogborn's lawyers' "incredible success," Senior Judge Tom McDonald approved fees of $934,325 for the lead trial lawyer, Ann Oldfather, and $311,250 to Kirsten Daniel, her co-counsel, as well as $25,000 in sanctions against McDonald's for misconduct in the litigation.

  * * *

  Margaret Keane, a partner at Greenebaum Doll & McDonald, which defended the restaurant company, declined to comment, and a spokesman for McDonald's didn't respond to a request for comment.

  The fees were awarded to Ogborn on top of the October 2007 verdict, under a provision of the Kentucky Civil Rights Act designed to promote vigorous advocacy for plaintiffs.

  She now can use that money to satisfy all or some of what she owes to her lawyers under their employment contracts. Specifics about those contracts have not been made public.

  McDonald's had vigorously protested the fee request, saying Ogborn's lawyers couldn't have possibly worked the hours they claimed.

  But Judge McDonald, who oversaw the trial in Bullitt Circuit Court, said that if the plaintiff's lawyers worked long hours, it was because the company forced them to, by fiercely contesting every motion and delving so deeply into Ogborn's private life.

  "McDonald's should not be heard to complain now that the plaintiff's counsel worked too hard, when, to a large degree, those decisions were driven by McDonald's," the judge said.

  Oldfather has said that McDonald's disclosed that it spent about $3.6 million on fees defending itself.

  * * *

  After a four-week trial, a Bullitt Circuit Court jury returned a verdict that included $5 million in punitive damages. McDonald's has appealed, and the case is pending at the Kentucky Court of Appeals.

  Keane argued for the company that Ogborn's lawyers achieved only limited success at trial because they had asked the jury for $100 million in damages.

  But Judge McDonald said "the jury placed the blame squarely at McDonald's corporate feet," and that the $1 million awarded to Ogborn in compensatory damages was five times higher than a Bullitt County jury had ever returned in a similar case.

  The judge also said that if Oldfather hadn't asked for $100 million, "who can say that without that large an amount the jury may not have ended up where it did?"

  The court's order included $212,000 to two lawyers who formerly worked with Oldfather -- Lea Player and Doug Morris -- and $173,000 to Bill Boone and Steve Yater, two lawyers who originally filed the suit but were later fired by Ogborn.

  McDonald also ordered the fast-food company to reimburse Ogborn's lawyers for $495,000 in expenses.