BENTON - Lawyer James Cole of St. Louis County moved for a $255,360 fee after jurors awarded $32,000 to his client, former St. Clair County jail occupant Cameron Belk.
Cole sought the sum in October under civil rights law allowing a judge to order a party who didn’t prevail at trial to pay legal fees of a party who prevailed.
Defendant Dennis Larson, a jail physician, denied on Nov. 13 that Belk prevailed.
His counsel, Kevin Peek of St. Louis, claimed $32,000 was less than the $100,000 Belk requested at trial and significantly less than the $2.5 million he originally sought.
“Looking at the case as a whole, the defense primarily prevailed and plaintiff should not be awarded fees as requested,” Peek wrote.
Belk sued sheriff Rick Watson in 2019, without counsel, claiming employees denied him medical care and ignored his requests for treatment and orthotic support.
He claimed he survived a stroke in 2017 and had a miraculous recovery with physical therapy, but his health got worse in jail.
He requested counsel, and Senior U.S. District Judge Phil Gilbert appointed Cole.
Cole amended the complaint to allege ten counts against 13 defendants.
Gilbert dismissed all but two defendants in 2021 and granted summary judgment to one of them this year, leaving Larson to stand trial alone.
Cole and defense counsel John Gilbert of St. Louis chose seven jurors on Oct. 2.
Four witnesses testified for Belk on Oct. 3, and he testified for about three hours.
Larson testified for about two and a half hours on Oct. 3 and 4, and called no other witness.
Jurors reached a verdict in two hours and seven minutes.
Cole moved for a fee award on Oct. 13, claiming he worked 925.4 hours for Belk.
He claimed he usually charged $350 an hour, but in this case he charged $275.
“A court should not award fees to an attorney for unsuccessful claims that are distinct in all respects from a successful claim,” he wrote.
“However, if there were related claims, some of which were successful and some not, a plaintiff who has won substantial relief should not have his fee reduced simply because the district court did not adopt each contention raised,” he added.
Cole claimed the Seventh Circuit Appellate Court “made clear that the goal of analyzing fees is to do rough justice, not achieve auditing perfection.”
“Representing a civil rights client is deemed to produce public benefit as well as private, and that factor should be considered,” he wrote.
He asked Gilbert to consider his assignment to a complex case, the length of the assignment and the substantial award eventually obtained at trial to a jury.
Peek responded that Cole can’t obtain reimbursement for prosecuting unsuccessful claims.
He claimed Cole must prove he worked 925.4 hours.
He also claimed some charges were too vague to be evaluated.
Peek added that under the national Prison Litigation Reform Act, attorney fees cannot exceed 150% of the total monetary value of a judgment.
He claimed if Gilbert deemed any award appropriate, it can’t exceed $48,000.