LOS ANGELES : Judge Doubles Attorney Fees in Civil Rights Case
A Los Angeles Federal Court judge this week doubled the fees of two attorneys who won a civil rights lawsuit against the Long Beach Police Department, saying that competent lawyers should be compensated for taking on such risky cases.
U.S. District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer granted attorneys Stephen and Marion R. Yagman $374,675 because such compensation is necessary to “attract competent counsel to represent plaintiffs in civil rights/police misconduct actions,” according to court documents.
The Yagmans represented two young people who claimed that Long Beach police used excessive force in breaking up a melee that erupted after a punk rock party at a downtown residential hotel May 6, 1988. A jury last month awarded the couple $180,000.
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