The jury already hit Kanye West with a hefty tab. Now a former employee who won a civil case against the rapper earlier this year is asking a judge to make him cough up $1.2 million in attorney’s fees.
According to court documents obtained by BlkCosmo, Anthony Saxon Netelkos says his legal team deserves the massive payout after a jury awarded him $140,000 in damages, finding the rapper liable under California’s Labor Code.
Saxon’s team logged more than 740 attorney hours over the nearly three-year fight, plus additional litigation staff time. They’re asking the court to apply a 1.75 multiplier to the fee total because of what they describe as the case’s complexity and risk.
Back in March, a jury found Kanye West failed to provide workers’ compensation insurance and awarded Saxon $140,000.
In the new filing, Saxon’s attorneys argue the litigation stretched 35 months and involved five different defense lawyers, extensive discovery, multiple depositions, and a two-week jury trial. The case cost their firm more than $300,000 out of pocket. They also handled it on contingency, meaning they weren’t guaranteed a payday if they lost.
The filing also takes aim at the rapper’s litigation tactics. His team made a $100,000 settlement offer just before trial, then later demanded Saxon pay $200,000 and issue a public apology after proceedings had already begun. Saxon’s attorneys rejected both offers and pressed on to trial, which they won.
They also accuse his camp of making the fight tougher by filing a separate lawsuit against them before trial and attempting to use that dispute as leverage during settlement talks.
Now it’s up to the judge to decide whether the rapper’s $140,000 trial loss turns into a legal tab in the seven figures.
Stay tuned.
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