GROW COMPANY, INC. VS.
DILIP CHOKSHI, ET AL.
A-0026-10T4
In this appeal, the court
reviewed the sufficiency of the
judge's findings in awarding
attorney's fees. Ascertaining a
reasonable fee was complicated
because the judge had previously
determined that the contractual
provision upon which the award
was based only authorized
fee-shifting with regard to certain
discrete aspects of this
multi-faceted suit. To
expeditiously
resolve the issue, the judge
appointed an expert, who developed
a methodology in which, among
other things, a percentage was
assigned to each task and then
applied in light of the length of
each written document. Although the judge recognized the
expert's approach was unusual,
the judge adopted it while
further discounting the award
derived by the expert based upon
the judge's feel of the case
developed during the lengthy
nonjury trial. The court -- recognizing that no
precise formula
is required -- affirmed the
award because the expert's
methodology was sufficiently
illuminating and also subjected to
the judge's own knowledge and
understanding of the case and, in
particular, the performance of
prevailing counsel during the
course of the litigation. 03-07-12
