Post by Logan on Apr 20, 2016 5:12:20 GMT -6
Eugene judge orders Oregon to pay $318,000 in lawyer fees to man kicked in chest by state trooper
U.S. District Judge Michael McShane has ordered the state to pay more than $318,000 in attorney fees to lawyers for a Eugene man who proved to a federal jury in January that an Oregon State Police captain violated his civil rights by kicking him in the chest after a traffic stop in rural Lane County.
In an order approving the fees sought by lawyers in plaintiff Justin Wilkens’ case, McShane said the legal bill was so high because the team of Oregon Department of Justice attorneys who represented state police Capt. Rob Edwards used a time-consuming litigation strategy designed to discourage other people from filing similar lawsuits against the state.
“But for the behavior of (Oregon Department of Justice) counsel at trial, I would chalk such tactics up to inexperience,” McShane wrote in a March 29 order awarding the fees. “The condescendence that was exhibited toward (Wilkens and his lawyers) during trial, however, can only lead this court to agree with the characterizations (made by Wilkens’ attorneys in their request for payment) that the government’s trial tactics made the litigation more costly and prolonged, and ultimately conclude that it was intended to deter (plaintiffs) from filing lawsuits.”
Read more: registerguard.com/rg/news/local/34284608-75/eugene-judge-orders-oregon-to-pay-318000-in-lawyer-fees-to-man-kicked-in-chest-by-state-trooper.html.csp
U.S. District Judge Michael McShane has ordered the state to pay more than $318,000 in attorney fees to lawyers for a Eugene man who proved to a federal jury in January that an Oregon State Police captain violated his civil rights by kicking him in the chest after a traffic stop in rural Lane County.
In an order approving the fees sought by lawyers in plaintiff Justin Wilkens’ case, McShane said the legal bill was so high because the team of Oregon Department of Justice attorneys who represented state police Capt. Rob Edwards used a time-consuming litigation strategy designed to discourage other people from filing similar lawsuits against the state.
“But for the behavior of (Oregon Department of Justice) counsel at trial, I would chalk such tactics up to inexperience,” McShane wrote in a March 29 order awarding the fees. “The condescendence that was exhibited toward (Wilkens and his lawyers) during trial, however, can only lead this court to agree with the characterizations (made by Wilkens’ attorneys in their request for payment) that the government’s trial tactics made the litigation more costly and prolonged, and ultimately conclude that it was intended to deter (plaintiffs) from filing lawsuits.”
Read more: registerguard.com/rg/news/local/34284608-75/eugene-judge-orders-oregon-to-pay-318000-in-lawyer-fees-to-man-kicked-in-chest-by-state-trooper.html.csp