Interplay wants their attorneys' fees

Post by **King of Creation** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 8:36 am

[ Company -> Article ] - News related to <a href="http://www.duckandcover.cx/archives.php ... ry=78">Top Story: Interplay's legal argument summarized</a> | More info on <a href="http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Bethesda v. Interplay">Company: Bethesda v. Interplay</a>

Right on the heels of DAC's release of <a href="../../forums/viewtopic.php?t=23672">Herve Caen's statement slamming Bethesda</a> comes another court filing from Interplay.
Interplay is now demanding the Bethesda pay all of its legal fees, including attorneys' fees. Here are some of the relevant excerpts from the filing:
<blockquote>
The parties have been embroiled in ongoing disputes because Bethesda has been attempting to stop Interplay from, among other things, continuing to expoit its rights under the APA, specifically its MMOG rights and its distribution of Pre-Existing Games, i.e. Fallout 1, Fallout 2, Brotherhood of Steel and Tactics.
In addition, Bethesda has: (1) attempted to restrict Interplay's design and implementation of the MMOG; (2) attempted to prevent Interplay from distributing Pre-Existing Fallout games, portions of which are permitted under the APA; and (3) attempted to preclude Interplay from issuing press releases or anything related to the Fallout game, not withstanding the fact that Interplay has reserved certain rights to the Fallout Intellectual Property under the terms of the APA.
...
Even after discovery rendered it clear that Bethesda had no evidence to support its Motion, Bethesda continued to press for an injunction. Bethesda knew it could not prevail on the Motion because it could not establish any of the elements required for the granting of a preliminary injunction. In fact, in making the Motion Bethesda employed the incorrect legal standard for a preliminary injuntion in the Fourt Circuit; (Motion, p. 11). Further, Bethesda was unable to demonstrate any actual confusion or likelihood of confusion with respect to Interplay's permissible use of the Fallout trademark or any irreparable hard., Bethesda nevertheless persisted with the knowledge that protracted litigation would be costly to Interplay and take its focus off development of MMOG. Interplay was thereby required to expend substantial amounts of time ande legal expense in order to defend against Bethesda's unsuccessful Motion, which is exactly what Bethesda intended.
On December 10, 2009, after considering the pleadings, the evidence submitted after the hearing and oral arguments of counsel, this Court denied Bethesda's Motion in its entirety. At the hearing, the Court found that Bethesda could not establish even one of the elements required for the granting of a preliminary injunction.
</blockquote>
Interplay wants "an award of its litigation costs, including attorneys' fees with respect to its successful defeat of Bethesda's Motion." Interplay then cites a myriad of different court case precedents to establish that they deserve this money. Here are the attorneys' fees that they want reimbursed, organized by law firm:
From The Gersh Law Firm, Inc.
<table border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Attorney</td>
<td>Status</td>
<td>Year Graduated From Law School</td>
<td>Total Hours</td>
<td>Current Rate</td>
<td>Requested Lodestar</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jeffrey F. Gersh</td>
<td>Principal</td>
<td>1979</td>
<td>192.5</td>
<td>$475.00</td>
<td>$91,437.50</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Lawrence P. Brennan, Jr.</td>
<td>Of-Counsel</td>
<td>1991</td>
<td>15.1</td>
<td>
$435.00
</td>
<td>$6,568.20</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Rochelle A. Herzog</td>
<td>Senior Counsel</td>
<td>1985</td>
<td>85.9</td>
<td>$395.00</td>
<td>$33,930.50</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Tracy L. Baughman</td>
<td>Associate</td>
<td>2005</td>
<td>15</td>
<td>$275.00</td>
<td>$4,125.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Totals</td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
<td>308.50</td>
<td> </td>
<td>$136,061.50</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
From Bregman, Berbert, Schwartz & Gilday
<table border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Attorney</td>
<td>Status</td>
<td>Year Graduated Law School</td>
<td>Total Hours</td>
<td>Current Rate</td>
<td>Requested Lodestar</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Geoffrey Hervey</td>
<td>
Partner
</td>
<td>1985</td>
<td>53.7</td>
<td>$310.00</td>
<td>$16,647.00</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
From Interplay's General Counsel
<table border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Attorney</td>
<td>Status</td>
<td>Year Graduated Law School</td>
<td>Total Hours</td>
<td>Current Rate</td>
<td>Requested Lodestar</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Chris Nelson</td>
<td>General Counsel</td>
<td>1990</td>
<td>154.6</td>
<td>$285/hr.</td>
<td>$44,061.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
<td>125.2</td>
<td>$285/hr.</td>
<td>$35,682.00</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
It should be noted that Chris Nelson "has reduced his hours to 125.2 and request a lodestar award in the amount of $35,382.00 rather than $44,061.00."
In addition to the attorney's fees (which, by the way, indicate that I am seriously in the wrong line of work), Interplay also reminds the court that it want the $9,539.38 it laid out in the Bill of Costs that it submitted a while ago.
The totals?
<blockquote>
Counsel have attested under oath to the fact that the bills are "correct and [have] been necessarily incurred in the case and that services for which fees have been charged were actually and necessarily performed."...Therefore, in the interest of equity and justice, Interplay request reimbursement of costs in the amount of $9,539.38 and attorney's fees of $188,390.50.
</blockquote>
So at the end of it all, Interplay is demanding around $200,000 in legal fee reimbursement from Bethesda.

jetbaby · Post by **jetbaby** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 11:28 am

$475.00 an hour? Jesus christ.

Post by **King of Creation** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 11:33 am

I know. It's ridiculous. Even the lawyer who graduated in 2005 is making $275 an hour.

VasikkA · Post by **VasikkA** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 1:01 pm

jetbaby wrote:$475.00 an hour? Jesus christ.

Thank gods Bethesda has so many loyal Fallblivionites who are more than willing to part with their money.

Post by **King of Creation** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 2:52 pm

News post updated and fixed.

orionquest · Post by **orionquest** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 7:10 pm

jetbaby wrote:$475.00 an hour? Jesus christ.

That is excessive but you have to remember that they are in a spirit sucking and nerve racking business and they do have to constantly read stuff that would bore people to death.

There are people on this board that could not even read about 10 pages of testimony without crying no mas.

Imagine if they have to read 218 pages?

Now that is not even close to the amount that Mr 475$ per hour Gersh had to read in order to have the experience required to utterly thrash Marbury in a court of law.

Granted, Bethesda put Marbury in a no win scenario by arguing the wrong case in front of the wrong judge.

Even when incorrectly arguing a Trademark case instead of the proper Contract law case, Bethesda could not even provide any substance whatsoever which can only lead to intent and that intent is to defraud by lawyering your opponent to death even when arguing an non winnable case.

But they can lawyer people to death only for so long until their bad faith intent becomes blatantly obvious even in a court of law where intent is debated.

Everybody should remember that they Judge had 2 days to decide whether or not to grant an injunction to Bethesda and she did not take 2 days. She did not even retire to her chambers to "decide" the motion.

Even while allowing Bethesda's charade to continue which she mentioned many times while telling Gersh that his objections are noted, she continually rebuked Bethesda's lawyer and that is rare to see in a court of law prior to a decision being made.

The judge picked up very early on what Bethesda is trying to do which is stonewall Interplay in every which way they can in order to defraud them of their part of the contract even though this contract agreement has brought Bethesda riches that have enabled them to be able to go out there and raise multiples of millions in order to expand by acquiring talented developers who will ultimately leave nonetheless due to Bethesda's overbearing treating of game development.

Game development is an art but when you have exploitative business people involved, they tend to get it down to a science of enslavement of game developers until they get what they want which eventually sucks the life out of all their franchises( look at what is happening to EA)

We are reminded here of the adage: The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Unbeknown to them, Bethesda's fall has only begun and soon it will display itself empirically in declining sales of their continuously cloned concoctions and loss of their Midas touch and release of the hibernating Murphy's Law.

cazsim83 · Post by **cazsim83** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 2:52 am

orionquest wrote:some stuff.

I'm not sure exactly who you are, but you can stay.

Ausir · Post by **Ausir** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 3:08 am

Orionquest is one of Interplay's shareholders.

jetbaby · Post by **jetbaby** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 5:48 am

orionquest wrote:Stuff

Irrelevant. I'll go to law school if I can make in a matter of months enough to live for a couple years if all I have to do is read a lot of boring shit.

orionquest · Post by **orionquest** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 8:08 am

jetbaby wrote:
orionquest wrote:Stuff

Irrelevant. I'll go to law school if I can make in a matter of months enough to live for a couple years if all I have to do is read a lot of boring shit.

I like your enthusiasm but you're not going to get far thinking that it's a lot of boring shit you "have" to read.

This decided lack of respect for your industry even before getting down in the dirtiness of it all already places you behind the 8 ball bar exam wise.

And even if you pass the bar, they'll catch you if they can Mr Abegnale Jr

Do we concur?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABGeNjK1UME

The best way to succeed in procuring vast sums of thin air units is to apply your efforts at something you are passionate about in order to excel at it.

Being passionate at having lots of dough is not the place where the passion needs to reside.

As a lawyer, you need to like debating and arguing without getting boiled over about it and easily offended when you think you have been slighted.

You also have to live with people disliking you for being anal retentive and them not wanting you to lecture them.

I've been accused of being a lawyer or wanting to be a lawyer by several persons objecting to my cogent defense of persons they are embroiled in deep arguments or contract disagreements.

I'm related to a lawyer and I hearsay a lot.....while holding my own as we verbally joust.

I've actually cringed in sympathy while witnessing ne'er do well lawyers go at it in mock trials at a young enough age to not want to go there.
Thank goodness for informative High school field trips.

Something about being in an industry where most likely you're going to be lying for a living has images of lots of self loathing and binge drinking to go along with the snorting and the reefing and the breakdowns.....
unless you are the diamond in the rough exception to the rule that I am related to.....

The love of money is not known as the root of all evil for nothing after all....

All kinds of hanger on's will surround you and pretend to care for you and scurry along the instant you're down on your luck...

leaving you a hollow egg shell of your prior self.

But it would make an interesting plot for a movie....especially the part after "living for a couple of years"

Will Bob Downey Jr still be available for the sequel to "Less than Zero 2: After the High?"'

Hey,unlike an unlucky dreamy eyed screenwriter, at least Bethesda won't threaten you with an instalawsuit unless you name your flick "Laws"ain't"kool: After the Fallout"

You always have to watch out for them Oligarch types. They take their bidness way too seriously fo' sure, dawg.

Hey if you can get enough people to pool together a cool 150 mil, then you can borrow from the FED at zero percent and lend the money back to the FED at the rate of treasuries and pocket the difference.

You'd be like every other Wall Street bankster trying to get back on their feet while bankrupting the treasury of the United States( I am serious, FED Chairman "Helicopter" Ben Bernanke said you can borrow at the so called discount window if you present yourself well.

You may also have to sell your soul and future seed to the veritable STAR of CHIUN symbol of a pagan entity but hey, "you'd be rich!......... biatch "

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3mfF7Ib ... re=related (3:19)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-Fkl0OF ... re=related

and not even Rick James'in Dave Chappelle can blame you

All seriousness aside, I hope I have not offended thee by going James Joycey Stream of consciousness pondering what might happen when reading a lot of boring shit.

jetbaby · Post by **jetbaby** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 8:16 am

My issue isn't a love of money by any stretch of the imagination. Notice how I said "years" from such a trial? My issue is that I have yet to find any career that I'm passionate about. Every day of work is just passing time to have a bit of spending money to keep my supply of video games going and make sure my bills are paid. What's your chosen profession? You should spend time with youth. If there was someone like you around when I were younger I probably wouldn't have ended up a depressed (always) alcoholic (off and on) with little worry nor care that life has become a downward spiral into the shadowy depths of apathy and irrelevance.

All told, reading boring shit (a lot), debating, binge drinking, and hating myself for a large paycheck honestly doesn't sound like too terrible an occupation. I already do all of the above, I just don't make $375.00 an hour to do it.

Sigh. I miss Feelings Online.

orionquest · Post by **orionquest** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 8:50 am

jetbaby wrote:My issue isn't a love of money by any stretch of the imagination. Notice how I said "years" from such a trial? My issue is that I have yet to find any career that I'm passionate about. Every day of work is just passing time to have a bit of spending money to keep my supply of video games going and make sure my bills are paid. What's your chosen profession? You should spend time with youth. If there was someone like you around when I were younger I probably wouldn't have ended up a depressed (always) alcoholic (off and on) with little worry nor care that life has become a downward spiral into the shadowy depths of apathy and irrelevance.

All told, reading boring shit (a lot), debating, binge drinking, and hating myself for a large paycheck honestly doesn't sound like too terrible an occupation. I already do all of the above, I just don't make $375.00 an hour to do it.

Sigh. I miss Feelings Online.

I feel with you. In my case, even if you start out liking something you are working at and are good at, sometimes your environment sucks your spirit when you have to deal with a lot of low level energy emanating from people who are stuck doing something they don't like and too fearful or beat down to do something to change it.

I always keep multiple profession paths running simultaneously on my front burner and back burner. I get bored real easy. That's one of the reasons I was traveling for nearly 3 years for my last job while doing "mission critical" IT work while technical securities/options trading on the side( Why do I trade? Because I figured out that almost everything that we do in this world is there because someone wants to get really rich via the stock market and they will do whatever it takes along with making people suffer needlessly in their boring and or oppressive jobs to accomplish their goal.
When you realize the source of our economic enslavement is also the same source of freeing us, you get motivated to get yourself out of the wine press of modern day bondage.

It's all a means to an end. My passions are varied but we are all trapped in a virtual prison of procure thin air units or starve and be shamed in the process and be called a loser.

"You should spend time with youth.If there was someone like you around when I were younger I probably wouldn't have ended up a depressed (always) alcoholic (off and on) with little worry nor care that life has become a downward spiral into the shadowy depths of apathy and irrelevance."

I'm not that old myself yet.... and I spend plenty of time with "youth" when I play basketball, soccer and football( sadly, most people past a certain age just decide to atrophy not knowing that there is no emotion without motion.)

There is one way to cure your boredom but you might not like the side effects. You could always have grown up on the other end of the Military Industrial complex iron fisted beat down and in that case you might think twice about doing self destructive things with your life when someone is busy actively trying to destroy you regardless of whether or not they're on the religio-fascist or econo-fascist side.

You must remember something about what goes on in the "docile" parts of the world.

They want you to drink. The more you drink the easier it is to subjugate you on the lower end of the economic enslavement strata.

They want you to eat inhumanely processed foods loaded with all kinds of toxins and petroleum/nuclear centrifuge byproducts that destroy your Pineal gland and effect your spirit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineal_gland

They want you to hate yourself. When you hate yourself, you have defeated yourself for them and they don't even have to try in their walkover victory.

They want you to die and be their slave while you die.

They don't have sympathy nor feel empathy towards you nor I.

You should know that sometimes you don't find out what you are truly passionate about until you have suffered enough.

The suffering in of itself brings out passion and excellence at something.

The key is to eventually find out what it is and channel your natural obsessive compulsive behavior towards that.

Everything comes in due time, you just need to have the courage to keep going and try a different approach since the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome.

Superhaze · Post by **Superhaze** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 11:09 am

Wait? What?! Jetbaby a lawyer?

This is gonna be Lazlo all over again.

VasikkA · Post by **VasikkA** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 11:22 am

Ausir wrote:Orionquest is one of Interplay's shareholders.

Sorry, cracks me up every time.

Wolfman Walt · Post by **Wolfman Walt** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 1:10 pm

VasikkA wrote:
Ausir wrote:Orionquest is one of Interplay's shareholders.
:hahano:

Sorry, cracks me up every time.

I bet he's not laughing.

jetbaby · Post by **jetbaby** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 1:25 pm

Give him credit. He's got the balls to stick it out with these guys.

orionquest · Post by **orionquest** » Wed Feb 03, 2010 6:30 pm

Superhaze wrote:Wait? What?! Jetbaby a lawyer?

This is gonna be Lazlo all over again.

Going old school with Gainsbourg, Vie Heroic.

So now I know where the Lazlo line from GTA3 radio comes from.

ekkaman · Post by **ekkaman** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 10:52 pm

jetbaby wrote:Give him credit. He's got the balls to stick it out with these guys.

Yep that would be why hes sticking with em.

jetbaby · Post by **jetbaby** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 6:33 am

There's not much else that it can be. If I give you ten apples today and tomorrow you come back with one rotten one it's better to risk losing that last one on the slight chance maybe he'll fulfill his promises to make a return on it all in the long run.

ekkaman · Post by **ekkaman** » Fri Feb 05, 2010 6:58 am

Dont take much to bet on a lame pony balls or not.