Legal fees settled in Novato schools First Amendment case

The Pacific Legal Foundation won a case against the Novato Unified School District concerning a student’s free press rights but lost the battle over legal fees, recovering only about one third of the fees they requested. -DB

Marin Independent Journal
May 31, 2009
By Gary Klien

A state appeals court has ruled in favor of the Novato Unified School District in a dispute over legal fees in a student journalist’s lawsuit.

The 1st Appellate District Court in San Francisco ruled that the former student’s lawyers can only bill the school district $336,350 in attorney fees for their victorious free-speech suit.

The former student’s law firm, the Pacific Legal Foundation, claimed the school district owed it nearly $1.5 million in fee awards after losing the case.

The legal fees will be paid by the district’s insurers, so the fees will not require further budget-cutting in the cash-strapped district.

“We’re all glad that this case is behind us,” said district Superintendent Jan La Torre-Derby. “It’s gone on way too long.”

The case began in November 2001, when student Andrew Smith wrote an editorial in the Buzz, the student newspaper at Novato High, saying that any Latino who can’t speak English should be detained as a possible illegal immigrant.

The school seized copies of the paper, issued an apology to parents and students, and ordered an accompanying counterpoint to a second article. Smith and his parents sued, claiming the school violated his free speech rights.

In 2005, a Marin judge ruled in the school’s favor and said the Smiths owed the school district $21,000 in litigation costs. But two years later, the state Court of Appeal reversed that decision, ruling unanimously that Smith’s free speech rights were violated.

In September 2007, the California Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s ruling in Smith’s favor. In February, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the school district’s appeal, giving Smith the victory.

The Pacific Legal Foundation then claimed the school district owed it nearly $1.5 million in fee awards. The firm said the case required about 4,300 hours of work by six staffers, whose hourly rates range from $118 to $475.

But Marin Superior Court Judge Lynn Duryee ruled that the law firm should be awarded $336,350 in fees.

“A closer look at the itemized billings submitted by plaintiff’s counsel shows an extraordinary and unreasonable amount of time spent on ordinary legal activities,” Duryee wrote.

The law firm appealed Duryee’s decision on the fees to the 1st Appellate District Court last year. On Thursday, a three-judge panel ruled against the law firm.

The matter was sent back to Marin Superior Court for a determination on how much interest should be paid on the $336,350.

Paul Beard, lead attorney for the Smiths, could not be reached for comment.

Smith graduated in 2002 and joined the Marines.

Copyright 2009 Marin Independent Journal