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Judge Slashes Office Depot’s Legal Fees by Over $1 Million for Being ‘Excessive’
Office Depot has been awarded $927,000 in legal fees related to a dismissed U.S. copyright lawsuit, significantly less than the over $2 million it sought. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida accepted the lower amount recommended by a federal magistrate, who criticized Office Depot’s lawyers for “excessive” billing practices and vague timesheet entries.In June, Judge Cannon dismissed the copyright infringement case filed by data analysis company Infogroup, now known as Data Axle, which claimed Office Depot improperly used licensed data for store location decisions. In August, Office Depot’s legal team, including firms Hogan Lovells and DLA Piper, argued that Infogroup should be liable for $2 million in fees under the federal Copyright Act.
A lawyer for Infogroup, Greg Scaglione, welcomed the reduced fee but indicated plans to appeal both the fee award and the dismissal of their claims. In a report last month, U.S. District Judge Bruce Reinhart noted that the case’s lengthy nature and involvement of 16 timekeepers suggested significant overstaffing, making it unreasonable to reimburse all involved.
Reinhart also highlighted issues in Office Depot’s billing records, citing “excessive billing, redundancies, vague entries, and redactions” that complicated the court’s review. Office Depot indicated it did not contest Reinhart’s findings. The case is Infogroup Inc v. Office Depot Inc, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, No. 9:23-cv-80358.
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