$175 hourly or $50? Judge weighs Morris case fees arguments

27th Dist. Court Judge Alonzo Harris has under advisement Mayor Bob Morris’ motion to order payment of his legal fees in defense of a defamation suit, and the plaintiffs’ motion to reduce the amount.
Attorney Christian Goudeau’s billl to Morris totals $7,843.75. He successfully defended the mayor against the suit filed by City Council members Chawana Fontenot and Bubba Bourque.
Their attorney, Michael Matt, contends the proper amount due is $1,000.
His claim is that only work specific to the successful motion strike the matter from the court file should be billable.
Goudeau’s contention is that under the contract between him and Morris all work done on the case, regardless what facet of it , is payable under the law.
Matt contends Goudeau’s billable time is 21 hours for the $1,000 he argues is proper. That's a rate of a little less than $50 hourly
Goudeau contends the $175 hourly he charges is proper for an attorney of his experience and is similar to that charged by others.
“The plaintiff in his memo wants you to consider the chilling effect a large fee would have,” Goudeau said, arguing that “chilling, frivolous defamation suits are exactly what the Legislature had in mind with its bill.”
The law provides more demanding rules for such suits than it does for general tort claims.
Matt countered that the defense wants his clients “punished for bringing what they thought was a legitimate grievance.”
“Their burden of proof was extraordinary but they felt they had been wronged. That doesn’t mean you punish them or the next plaintiff,” he told the court.
Goudeau disagreed.
“They should have taken their fight to the court of public opinion, not the court of law. They knew they would have expenses and now don’t want to pay,” he said.