Lee v. American Eagle Airlines, Inc.

Facts

P sued American (D). The trial of this case lasted fourteen days. The jury found that D had subjected P to a racially hostile work environment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. P was awarded $300,000 in compensatory and $650,000 in punitive damages. The jury also found that P had not been terminated because of his race. This motion seeking attorney's fees and costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988 followed. P seeks $1,611,910.50 in attorney's fees. An evidentiary hearing was held; counsel and other witnesses testified. P’s attorneys during the case were Marvin and Ira Kurzban. The following facts were found by the court. Discovery was rancorous and counsel for both sides contributed to the lack of civility. The tone of depositions was harsh, witnesses were treated with discourtesy, and discovery disputes were abundant. The transcripts of the depositions, in this case, are weighted down with bitter exchanges between the lawyers. This uncivil conduct also continued during conversations between counsel. The testimony of a young lawyer formerly with the D's counsel's law firm was particularly poignant. This lawyer testified that during telephone conversations with Ira Kurzban, she was hung up on, told that she had only been assigned to work on the case because she was African-American, and wrongly accused of misrepresentations. She testified that her experience with opposing counsel, in this case, was a factor in her decision to leave her litigation practice. The judge heard the following at the beginning of trial: 'Let's kick some ass,' Marvin Kurzban said loudly to his client, and his co-counsel. The judge had taken the bench, and Court was in session. Opposing counsel and their client representatives were seated across the aisle. The jury was waiting to be called into the courtroom. A lawyer for D testified that she and others were subjected to a barrage of comments out of the hearing of the Court and jury which she likened to trash talk at a sporting event. Local counsel for D was called a 'Second Rate Loser' by Marvin Kurzban. She testified that each day as court began, Marvin Kurzban would say, 'Let the pounding begin.' In front of defense counsel's client, Mr. Kurzban would ask, 'How are you going to feel when I take all of your client's money?' When walking out of the courtroom, Marvin Kurzban would exclaim, 'Yuppies out of the way.' During trial, Marvin Kurzban made many visible displays of disagreement with rulings by nodding his head or looking upward at the ceiling. P's counsel continued to address comments to opposing counsel rather than to the Court and interject inappropriate comments before the jury. Marvin disparaged the court reporter. Marvin even accused the judge of bias and argued and insulted the judge on rulings. They would laugh at objections, toss pens, exclaiming 'This is outrageous'; the rolling of eyes; exasperated looks at the ceiling; and flailing of arms. After the episode of Marvin Kurzban laughing at my ruling, I asked counsel to approach the bench. Marvin Kurzban responded: 'I didn't laugh. What I started doing was writing a note, saying to my brother . . . I didn't realize I was saying it out loud -- we're not trying his case. That's what the objection was because he's telling about his problems.' Ira Kurzban then interjected: 'I'd like to add, Your Honor, there's a continuing pattern of conduct we believe shows enormous bias and has turned this trial into a circus-like atmosphere.' The attorneys even faked having evidence when cross-examining witnesses, and when called on it, they never produced the evidence. 

Issues

Rule of Law

Holding and Decision

Legal Analysis

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