Opinion ID: 610561
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: District Court award of attorney's fees

Text: 57 PIL contends that the District Court abused its discretion in awarding substantial attorney's fees to TPP for both the New York and Illinois actions. PIL claims that TPP did not qualify as a prevailing party in the Illinois action, and that in the New York action, damages should be apportioned, with reductions for the amount of attorney's fees devoted to the trademark claim and the portions of the Book that were not infringing. PIL also contends without elaboration that there was some amount of duplicative billing, but this claim appears not to have been presented in the District Court. 58 As to the copyright attorney's fees, we review only for abuse of discretion. See N.A.S. Import, Corp. v. Chenson Enterprises, Inc., 968 F.2d 250, 253 (2d Cir.1992). The standard for awarding fees is very favorable to prevailing parties; indeed,  'fees are generally awarded to a prevailing plaintiff.'  Id. at 254 (quoting Roth v. Pritikin, 787 F.2d 54, 57 (2d Cir.1986)). While we agree with PIL that the award of fees for the Illinois action is somewhat unusual, we find that it was proper. Had TPP interposed its copyright claims by way of a counterclaim in a single action, it would have been allowed recovery of all fees. See Rose v. Bourne, Inc., 279 F.2d 79, 81 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 364 U.S. 880, 81 S.Ct. 170, 5 L.Ed.2d 103 (1960). TPP's decision to seek dismissal of the Illinois action on jurisdictional grounds and to bring the action in New York can be seen as part of a unified course of action of vindicating its copyrights. We find no abuse of discretion in the District Court's decision to award copyright fees for both lawsuits. 59 The trademark attorney's fees, however, stand on a different ground. The relevant statute, 15 U.S.C. § 1117 (1988), allows recovery of a reasonable attorney's fee only in exceptional cases. Such fees should be awarded only on evidence of fraud or bad faith. See Transgo, Inc. v. Ajac Transmission Parts Corp., 768 F.2d 1001, 1014 (9th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1059, 106 S.Ct. 802, 88 L.Ed.2d 778 (1986). While a finding of bad faith and a decision to award trademark fees is ordinarily reviewed only for abuse of discretion, see George Basch Co. v. Blue Coral, Inc., 968 F.2d 1532, 1542-43 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 510, 121 L.Ed.2d 445 (1992), it appears that the District Court failed to apply the proper statutory standard. Even apart from our decision to vacate the District Court's finding of trademark infringement, we see little evidence of fraud or bad faith here concerning the alleged trademark infringement. Accordingly, we vacate the award of attorney's fees to the extent that the fees related to TPP's prosecution of the trademark claim. On remand, if the trademark claim is pursued and results in a determination of liability for trademark infringement, the District Court must further determine whether the infringement satisfies the standard of section 1117. Unless the District Court adheres to its decision to award attorney's fees on the trademark claim, an appropriate apportionment of fees will be required.