Is it possible to recover attorney’s fees in admiralty litigation if you are the prevailing party? If attorneys’ fees can be awarded, how is the amount of the award determined?
Two cases decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit provide some answers to these questions:
Contracting for Attorney’s Fees in the Event of a Dispute: Genesis Marine, L.L.C. v. Hornbeck Offshore Services, L.L.C.
The general rule in admiralty cases, as pronounced by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, is that attorneys’ fees are not recoverable by the prevailing party. However, there are some exceptions to this general rule. One of these exceptions was noted in Genesis Marine, L.L.C. v. Hornbeck Offshore Services, L.L.C., a case recently decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
As the court stated in this case, the parties to a contract are entitled to provide that in the event of a dispute, the prevailing party may recover attorneys’ fees. The dispute in this case involved a series of contracts related to the sales, involving charter agreements that were already in place with third party customers at the time of the sales. The attorneys’ fee provision at issue was contained in one of these charter agreements, which was incorporated into and made subject to the parties’ related contact.
The district court found that both parties were entitled to recover some damages based on different breach of contract claims, and both parties sought to recover attorneys’ fees as “prevailing parties.” The court held, however, that the district court did not abuse its discretion in deciding that because both parties prevailed, neither one could recover attorneys’ fees.
Calculating the Amount of Attorneys’ Fees: Moench V. Marquette Transp Co. Gulf-Inland, LLC.
This “lodestar” method for calculating attorneys’ fees was outlined by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Moench v. Marquette Transp Co. Gulf-Inland, LLC. In this case, the plaintiff asserted general maritime law negligence and unseaworthiness claims after a towing vessel collided with a private vessel. Among other damages, the district court awarded attorney’s fees, as a sanction.
To calculate the fee amount, the court used what is known as the “lodestar method.” Using this method, a court calculates a fee award by multiplying the number of hours of attorney time spent by the attorneys’ reasonable hourly rates. The resulting amount can be adjusted based on a number of factors, such as the novelty and difficulty of the case; the skill level, experience, reputation and ability of the attorneys; the amount of necessary attorney time and labor required, and fee awards in similar cases.
If you have questions about contractual fee provisions in maritime contracts or understanding the calculation of fee awards in maritime cases, or, would like to know more about recovering attorneys’ fees in maritime litigation in general, contact the experienced maritime team at the Kolodny Law Firm.
Alan Kolodny is committed to representing injured clients in Texas and throughout the United States. Alan earned his B.A. from Rice University and his J.D. from Southern Methodist University.
He focuses his practice on representing plaintiffs in personal injury cases involving the following matters: maritime and offshore accidents, including those under the Jones Act; automobile and 18-wheeler truck accidents; and industrial site accidents, work-related accidents, and claims for injured railroad workers under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act.
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