Michael Chesal and Steven Peretz, of Peretz Chesal Herrmann. Photo: Jill Kahn.FIU and FNU Fought Over Their Names. Lawyers Made $1.2M From That Trademark Battle
"While this case may have been a footnote for FIU, this was a make-or-break case for FNU, and we therefore needed to vigorously defend it," said Steven Peretz of Peretz Chesal & Herrmann in Miami, who spent six years defending a trademark lawsuit the court ultimately deemed meritless.
June 19, 2019 at 01:31 PM
5 minute read
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Becerra in the Southern District of Florida has recommended a $1.15 million fee award for Florida National University, which spent six years defending a trademark infringement lawsuit that alleged it had piggy-backed on Florida International University's name.
Becerra made the recommendation to U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams, who's adjudicating the dispute between the two Florida universities.
FIU claimed FNU's name was too similar and caused unwarranted confusion in the marketplace, but Williams disagreed, ruling there was ”no compelling or persuasive evidence” to support that.
The fee award is rare, as only “ exceptional” cases can trigger fees for the defense in a trademark case. The proposed amount stems from 2,607 hours of work on the district court case and 758.82 hours for the appellate case, which translated into about $866,630 and $292,305 respectively.
Six lawyers and one paralegal worked on the defense. Peretz, Chesal & Herrmann partners Steven Peretz and Michael Chesal in Miami spent the most time on the case, along with associate Moish Peltz. They hired expert witness Michael Higer of Berger Singerman in Miami to review their fees, and he recommended a 7.5% reduction in the numbers of hours worked to reflect overlap.
FIU argued for a 40% cut in hours billed, claiming FNU's petition included excessive, deceptive, duplicate and block billing. FNU fired back, arguing that the billing wouldn't have been so voluminous if FIU hadn't attempted to litigate every aspect of the case, even after it appeared to have no legs.
If approved, FNU will get more than 92% of what it paid its lawyers but won't get everything it asked for.
Peretz and his team sought to recover more than they'd actually billed FNU, as they'd offered a discounted rate for the educational institution. Peretz charged $480 an hour, for example, but his regular rate is $525. He sought a rate of $600 an hour for the fee award, arguing it more reasonably reflects the prevailing market rate.
|Who billed what to FNU?
Steven Peretz: $480 per hour in district case; $494 per hour in appellate case
Michael Chesal: $456 per hour in district case; $475 per hour in appellate case
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