Bell v. Lantz

Dist. Ct. did not err in finding that defendant was entitled to attorney fees as “prevailing party” in instant copyright infringement action, where Dist. Ct. granted plaintiff’s motion to voluntarily dismiss with prejudice his claim against defendant after plaintiff had confirmed through responses to interrogatories that defendant had not infringed on his copyright. Moreover, Ct. rejected plaintiff’s claim that defense counsel had duty to mitigate instant fee request, and that defendant breached said duty by failing to seek dismissal of plaintiff’s claim at earlier stage of proceedings. However, remand was required, since Dist. Ct. erred in basing said award on defense counsel’s alleged hourly rate of $410, where plaintiff presented significant evidence that defense counsel’s actual rate was $250 per hour, which included engagement letter indicating that defense counsel agreed to charge defendant $250 per hour, as well as actual invoices to defendant indicating fees at $250 per hour.