Attorneys Fees and Sanctions Category Archives — The Virginia Business Litigation Blog Published by Virginia and Washington, D.C. Litigation & Appeals Attorney

August 12, 2026

Think You’re Entitled to Attorney Fees? Explain Yourself.

A party with an ironclad statutory or contractual right to attorney fees can still lose that right by failing to plead it correctly. That is the lesson of Pinnacle Flooring Solutions, LLC v. Premier Homes Group, LLC, Record No. 250618 (Va. July 30, 2026), in which the Supreme Court of Virginia held that Virginia Rule 3:25’s requirement that parties “identify the basis upon which the party relies in requesting attorney fees” is satisfied only by affirmatively identifying the basis for a fee request in the pleading itself, regardless of whether the other party is aware of the basis for requesting legal fees. Reversing the Court of Appeals, the Court reinforced that Rule 3:25 is a pleading requirement, not a notice requirement, and that the distinction is dispositive.

Premier Homes Group had subcontracted with Pinnacle Flooring Solutions to install flooring in three homes Premier was constructing. Each of the three nearly identical subcontracts contained a Section 8(b) providing that if Pinnacle defaulted and failed to cure after notice, Premier could take whatever corrective steps it deemed necessary at Pinnacle’s cost, with Pinnacle liable for that cost plus Premier’s reasonable overhead, profit, and attorney fees. When the relationship broke down, Pinnacle sued for nonpayment, attaching the subcontracts as exhibits to its complaint. Premier counterclaimed, alleging that Pinnacle’s work was defective and below industry standards and requesting that the court award it the attorney fees it incurred in prosecuting the matter. Premier incorporated various paragraphs from the subcontracts into its pleading—including the paragraph authorizing recovery of attorney fees—but did not expressly state a basis for its request for attorney fees.

August 16, 2020

Spoliation of Evidence Can Result in Dismissal or Default

by Lee E. Berlik

When specific and identifiable litigation becomes reasonably foreseeable, those likely to be involved in the litigation and with awareness of their likely involvement have a duty to preserve potentially relevant evidence. Failure of such a party to take reasonable steps to preserve the evidence–or intentional alteration, concealment, or destruction of evidence–is known as “spoliation of evidence” (often misspelled as “spoilation of evidence,” which is not a thing) and can result in severe sanctions if other litigants are prejudiced by their inability to use the missing evidence at trial. (See Va. Code § 8.01-379.2:1) Typically, the court will instruct the jury that it may (or must) presume that the evidence–had it been preserved–would have been unfavorable to the party who failed to preserve it. Sometimes, however, in particularly egregious circumstances, the court can dismiss the action (if the plaintiff is guilty of spoliation) or enter a default judgment (if spoliation was committed by the defendant).

Case in point: QueTel Corp. v. Hisham Abbas, No. 18-2334 (4th Cir. (Va.) July 16, 2020). QueTel brought this action against Hisham Abbas, Shorouk Mansour, and Finalcover, LLC, for misappropriation of trade secrets, copyright infringement, and other claims. The gist of the lawsuit was that Abbas–a former QueTel employee–allegedly stole source code from QueTel’s copyrighted software (TraQ Suite 6) and used it in a competing product (CaseGuard). QueTel sent the defendants a cease-and-desist letter in which it demanded that they:

cease infringing on QueTel’s intellectual property including the source code underlying the TraQ Suite 6 software;
cease all advertising, promotion, and sale of the CaseGuard software;
provide an accounting of all sales of the CascGuard software made to date; and
allow QueTel to copy and inspect a complete copy of all versions of the CaseGuard source code as well as any computers that Abbas used during the period from January l, 2014 to the present.

February 20, 2019

So You Think You’re Going to Recover Attorneys’ Fees?

by Lee E. Berlik

Virginia courts are not fond of awarding attorneys’ fees in litigation, even to the prevailing party. The general rule in this country is that litigants are responsible for their own attorneys’ fees unless a contract or statute says otherwise. Even if you win a case, you still have to pay your lawyer and can’t force the losing party to reimburse you. Even if a statute authorizes recovery of legal fees, the judge will have discretion to determine the amount. Most statutes that allow recovery of legal fees only allow recovery of a “reasonable” amount, so if the judge feels that no amount of fees would be reasonable to assess against the other side, then no fees will be awarded. Let’s check out a recent case from Fairfax County.

Robert M. Swahn, Jr. v. Nouman Hussain was a dispute between neighbors. Before addressing the issue of whether one of the parties could recover legal fees as the “prevailing party” in the litigation, the court characterized the case (in the very first sentence of the opinion) as one in which “everyone loses.” You know you’re not getting an award of attorneys’ fees when the judge calls you a loser.

December 2, 2015

Use the Courts to Vindicate Rights, Not Intimidate Enemies

by Lee E. Berlik

Litigation tactics designed to bully, harass, intimidate, or embarrass an opponent or opposing counsel are not permitted in Virginia courts. While litigants may gain great satisfaction from the knowledge that their lawsuit or counterclaim is causing the other side a great deal of expense and inconvenience, if the primary goal of the litigation is to cause pain, rather than vindicate legitimate legal rights, courts have the authority to impose sanctions. Notably, this is true even if the claim has merit. So held the Virginia Supreme Court on November 12, 2015, in Kambis v. Considine.

Most lawyers associate Va. Code § 8.01-271.1 (the state-level equivalent of Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure) with frivolous pleadings – pleadings completely devoid of merit, unsupported by any foundation in law or fact, and having no reasonable chance of success. Lawyers know that if they file a complaint based on fanciful factual allegations and outdated legal citations, they can be sanctioned and ordered to reimburse the other party for legal fees incurred in having to respond. What’s noteworthy about the Kambis case is that it focused on the “improper purpose” prong of the sanctions test and clarified that sanctions may be awarded even if a pleading presents a valid claim fully supported by the facts and the law.

July 10, 2014

Bringing Lawsuit to Stifle Online Criticism Held Ground for Awarding Attorneys’ Fees

by Lee E. Berlik

Virginia lacks an anti-SLAPP statute, but that doesn’t mean filing a frivolous lawsuit focused on eliminating criticism rather than enforcing actual legal rights can’t result in being ordered to reimburse the defendant’s legal fees. Some creative plaintiffs, finding themselves the subject of online criticism but not wanting to sue for defamation either because of an inability to satisfy the elements of the actionable libel or slander or because of other potential problems with bringing a defamation claim, have resorted to copyright law in pursuit of their goals. But as demonstrated by a recent decision of the Western District of Virginia, if the plaintiff has no valid copyright-infringement claim and/or takes unreasonable positions (either in making arguments to the court or in the process of settlement negotiations), the court has the authority not only to dismiss the case but to order the plaintiff to pay the defendant a reasonable amount of attorneys’ fees.

In Ergun M. Caner v. Jonathan Autry, the court found that “Plaintiff filed a copyright infringement suit to stifle criticism, not to protect any legitimate interest in his work” and ordered him to pay Mr. Autry $34,389.59 in attorneys’ fees and costs. The court described the facts of the case essentially as follows:
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August 5, 2013

Remedies Scrutinized in Trade Secrets Case Even After Default

by Lee E. Berlik

The allegations in Autopartsource, LLC v. Bruton presented a fairly egregious case of stolen trade secrets. Due to a defendant’s failure to answer, those allegations were deemed true. As remedies, Autopartsource sought $1,131,801.55 in compensatory damages, $350,000 in punitive damages (the statutory maximum), $59,409.72 in attorneys’ fees and costs, a worldwide production injunction to last seven years, and a permanent injunction prohibiting the use of Autopartsource’s trade secrets. The court held an evidentiary hearing and ruled that while Autopartsource was entitled to an injunction and substantial damages, the scope of the requested injunction would be narrowed and the damages would be reduced.

Autopartsource designated employee Stephen Bruton to spearhead the company’s effort to develop business in China, where it sources its automobile parts. Bruton secretly developed his own competing business, BBH Source Group, and misappropriated Autopartsource’s trade secrets in doing so, using them to redirect prospective Autopartsource customers to BBH. After Autopartsource discovered Bruton’s actions and fired him, Bruton broke into an Autopartsource facility and deleted proprietary information from its database.

Autopartsource sued for violation of the Virginia Uniform Trade Secrets Act, tortious interference with business expectancy, and tortious interference with contract. The court found that Autopartsource had established liability on all three theories but that, under Virginia law, it could not recover damages under both VUTSA and its claim for tortious interference with business expectancy, as a party cannot receive damages for a common law tort if the underlying conduct involves an intentional misappropriation of a trade secret.

February 15, 2013

The Consequences of Destroying Evidence

by Lee E. Berlik

Spoliation of evidence can result not only in an adverse inference instruction to the jury, but in an award of attorneys fees and expenses incurred in proving the spoliation. As demonstrated by the contentious trade secret litigation between E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company and Kolon Industries, Inc., those fees and expenses can be substantial.

Several months ago, the court found that several key Kolon employees had intentionally deleted relevant emails, hampering DuPont’s ability to present and prove its case. As a result, the court granted DuPont’s request to instruct the jury that it could assume the destroyed evidence contained information damaging to Kolon. DuPont won the case, then sought an award of fees and expenses incurred in connection with proving the spoliation.

The court noted that DuPont had engaged in a “long, and oftentimes tortuous, journey” to discover emails Kolon had deleted and documents it had destroyed. Complicating DuPont’s burden was what the court called Kolon’s “overall obfuscatory conduct.” Still, DuPont had to prove the reasonableness of the fees requested.

February 5, 2013

Failure to Allege Basis for Subject Matter Jurisdiction Can Result in Sanctions

by Lee E. Berlik

If you’re going to file a lawsuit against someone, you’d better explain the basis for it. A complaint doesn’t need to include much detail, but it must at least allege facts showing that you’ve been wronged and that you are entitled to a remedy of some sort. In federal court, you must also demonstrate a basis to invoke the court’s jurisdiction. Failure to do so can result in monetary sanctions.

Take the case of Michael Harris v. Jeffrey Seto, brought in the Harrisonburg Division of the Western District of Virginia. Michael F. Harris and his company, M. F. Harris Research, Inc., filed a complaint against Jeffrey K. Seto, Matthew S. Johnson, and others, alleging fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and corporate diversion. Harris stated in conclusory fashion that Seto and others defrauded him by scheming to take over his company and steal confidential information and business opportunities.

The complaint consisted of a two-page handwritten document. (Hint: that’s not the best way to make a good first impression with the judges). The complaint alleged nine counts but did not set forth the factual basis supporting them. According to the civil cover sheet filed with the complaint, Harris asserted the court’s jurisdiction was based on a federal question. He checked boxes describing the case as being in the nature of “Assault, Libel & Slander,” “Property Damage Product Liability,” and “Patent.” Defendant Johnson was the only defendant served and he wisely moved to dismiss the action for failure to state a claim.

December 27, 2012

Attorney’s Lien Superpriority Subject to Reasonableness of Fees

by Lee E. Berlik

Russell Lee Ebersole recently won a $45,000 judgment in a case for defamation and business conspiracy, racking up over $135,000 in attorney fees to obtain it. In September, Judge Cacheris ruled that only around $80,000 of the incurred fees were reasonable, and awarded fees to the plaintiff accordingly. Alas, it appears that Mr. Ebersole is never going to see any of this money, because he owes the government–which timely perfected its restitution lien–over $700,000.

Shortly after the judgment was entered, the government applied for a Writ of Continuing Garnishment to enforce its lien against the proceeds. Ebersole’s lawyers intervened and objected, claiming that the superpriority of their attorney’s lien (under 26 U.S.C. § 6323(b)(8)) applied to all fees billed to their client, not just the amount deemed reasonable by Judge Cacheris.

The priority of a federal lien based on an order of restitution is generally determined by who got there first, i.e. “first-in-time, first-in-right,” and the government’s lien was filed first. But there is an exception to that rule. An attorney’s lien “to the extent of his reasonable compensation for obtaining such judgment” enjoys superpriority status under 26 U.S.C. § 6323(b)(8). Regulations interpret “reasonable compensation” as the amount customarily allowed under local law for similar legal work based on the individual case circumstances.

October 11, 2012

Laffey Matrix and Grissom Table Considered in Reducing Attorneys’ Fees

by Lee E. Berlik

The Laffey Matrix is used as a guideline for reasonable attorney fees in the Washington-Baltimore area. An updated version is available that adjusts the rates for the high cost of living. Virginia courts are not bound by the Laffey Matrix, but the Fourth Circuit has indicated that the Laffey matrix is a “useful starting point to determine fees.” The Laffey Matrix was further modified in Grissom v. Mills Corp., 549 F.3d 313, 323 (4th Cir. 2008), where it was adjusted specifically for Northern Virginia and presented in a form that has come to be known as the Grissom Table. In a recent federal-court decision, Judge Cacheris considered all three guidelines prior to awarding the plaintiff $75,832.73 of the $131,598.25 sought.

In Ebersole v. Kline-Perry (discussed earlier here in connection with the court’s slashing of the jury’s award of punitive damages), the court began its analysis by determining the “lodestar amount” – the product of a reasonable fee and a reasonable hourly rate. Federal courts sitting in Virginia consider twelve “Johnson/Kimbrell” factors for guidance in determining reasonableness, which Judge Cacheris noted encompass the factors normally relied upon by Virginia state courts in awarding fees in business-conspiracy cases.

Those factors are: (1) the time and labor expended; (2) the novelty and difficulty of the questions raised; (3) the skill required to properly perform the legal services rendered; (4) the attorney’s opportunity costs in pressing the instant litigation; (5) the customary fee for like work; (6) the attorney’s expectations at the outset of the litigation; (7) the time limitations imposed by the client or circumstances; (8) the amount in controversy and the results obtained; (9) the experience, reputation and ability of the attorney; (10) the undesirability of the case within the legal community in which the suit arose; (11) the nature and length of the professional relationship between attorney and client; and (12) attorneys’ fees awards in similar cases.