A team of South Florida lawyers seemed to have set their client back more than $115,000 after a federal appeals court affirmed a lower court’s order that criticized the attorneys’ pursuit of frivolous claims in the “exceptional” case warranting a fee award.

U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton Jr., who sits in the Middle District of Florida, justified the “exceptional” statement by stating “based on multiple findings,” Lakeland Motors LLC, the defendant, repeatedly advised counsel for Off Lease Only Inc., the plaintiff, of the “frivolity of the claim,” according to court documents.