This story originally appeared in sibling publication New York Law Journal.

Four law firms that submitted a “grossly inflated” $2.7 million fee request after winning $12,500 for their client should go away empty-handed, a judge ruled on Thursday. U.S. District Court Judge Joanna Seybert, sitting in Central Islip, New York condemned the fee application submitted by real estate investor Robert Toussie’s attorneys, including $2.65 million for Chadbourne & Parke, as “outrageously excessive” and done in “bad faith.”