The Delaware Court of Chancery, in a letter opinion in James v. National Financial, C.A. No. 8931-VCL (Del. Ch. June 3, 2016), held a defendant and its counsel jointly and severally liable for costs and attorney fees totaling over $331,000. The opinion follows a March 16 opinion that invalidated a cash-advance loan due to its draconian terms.
First, the court held that the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) independently entitled Gloria James an award for all of her costs and fees pursuant to 15 U.S.C. Section 1640(a)(3) because all of her claims arose out of the same common core of facts as her TILA claim. Even though the TILA would have been sufficient to justify an award of all of James’ fees, the court added that, even if James was not entitled to fee shifting under the TILA, such an award was warranted under the bad-faith exception to the American Rule, because of the defendant’s litigation conduct throughout the case.
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