The Majority Opinion: Legal Blog

City of Laredo v.  Montano - Texas Supreme Court Facts :  The relevant portion of this case dealing with attorney's fees centered around an attorney who sought to prove up his attorney's fees at trial almost exclusively based upon his testimony.  At trial, the attorney testified that he had worked for approximately 226 weeks on the case, with a “conservative” estimate of 6 hours per week.  Based on his estimates, he calculated his attorney's fees in the amount of $339,000.  Although the attorney testified at trial as to the work he had done, he did not keep time records nor did he have any invoices, bills, or other tangible evidence to establish the attorney's fees he sought.  The only tangible evidence he could point to were the "thousands and thousands of pages that were accumulated in this case."   The City of Laredo argued that there was insufficient evidence presented by the attorney to prove up the attorney's fees he sought a...

In the Matter of Deborah Sagal-Cotler v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of New York, et al. In the Matter of Josephine Thomas v. New York City Department of Education, et al. Both cases were ruled upon by the New York Court of Appeals Facts:   Both petitioners were paraprofessionals employed in New York City public schools who had been sued by students who alleged that the petitioners had hit them.   Both petitioners did not dispute that their actions, regarding corporal punishment of the students, violated a Rule of the Board of Regents which prohibited corporal punishment.   When both petitioners asked the City of New York to defend them, the city refused on the grounds that the petitioners actions precluded them from having the City pay for their defense.   The petitioners claimed that they were entitled to a defense paid for by the City under Education Law § 3028.   This section provided for a defense paid for ...