SAN FRANCISCO — It's become routine for companies to ask for attorney fees following defense wins in patent cases. But a request by TriReme Medical Inc. for nearly $5 million in fees after besting medical device rival AngioScore Inc. at trial comes under unusual circumstances.

TriReme's request, which follows a seven-day jury trial last month, is one of the largest in the Northern District of California since the Supreme Court's Octane Fitness decision last year opened the door for more “exceptional case” fee shifting. TriReme's court filings detail nearly 5,600 hours of work billed by attorneys with a trio of law firms at rates that top out at more than $800 per hour.

The move also comes a little less than four months after a federal judge in Oakland denounced TriReme and the conduct of its parent company's CEO, Eitan Konstantino, and awarded $20 million to AngioScore in a related breach of fiduciary duty case.