A California court of appeal on Monday stuck a patent attorney with sanctions, accusing him of trying to pull a fast one on the lawyers and judges involved in litigation over his unpaid legal bill.

The Sixth District Court of Appeal refused to reverse an arbitration award against Timothy Gens, a patent attorney who refused to pay around $415,000 in legal fees to his former lawyers at Hopkins & Carley, claiming they’d racked up fees beyond the budget he authorized.