Simers v. Los Angeles Times Commc’ns LLC, 104 Cal. App. 5^th 940 (2024)

Former Los Angeles Times columnist T.J. Simers sued the Times for constructive termination of his employment and age and disability discrimination in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act. After three trials over the course of nine years, a jury awarded Simers $1.25 million (though his lawyer had asked the jury to return a verdict of between $30 and $50 million). The jury’s verdict was the exact amount of a settlement offer the Times had made to Simers before the commencement of the third trial pursuant to Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 998. Following the trial, Simers filed a motion for recovery of more than $15.6 million in attorney’s fees and $578,000 in costs for all three trials and the previous appeals. The trial court awarded plaintiff $3.27 million in attorney’s fees and $211,000 in costs, reducing the amounts claimed by plaintiff by the fees and costs he incurred after defendant’s 998 offer. In reaching this conclusion, the trial court observed that plaintiff’s lawyers “did not accurately assess the damages plaintiff would recover and asked for an astronomical sum in the eyes of the jury and the court” and noted that plaintiff’s counsel “did not handle this case in a masterful way or achieve an outstanding result.” Plaintiff’s counsel sought reimbursement of up to $1,300 per hour for their senior lawyers. However, as a result of plaintiff’s counsel’s “inefficiency and excessive billing [by 11 lawyers],” the trial court reduced the number of hours of recoverable attorney time by 20 percent “across the board.” The Court of Appeal affirmed the order.