Two weeks after persuading Southern District Judge Lewis Kaplan (See Profile) that Steven Donziger won a $9.5 billion environmental judgment against the oil giant through fraud and racketeering, Chevron now wants the same judge to order Donziger to cover $32.3 million of its legal bills.
Chevron wrote in a 25-page motion filed Tuesday that $32.3 million “represents the fees incurred for only a portion of the legal work required to prevail in this action.” Chevron said its lead lawyers at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher billed 36,837 hours at an average rate of $950 per hour. Contract attorneys brought in by Gibson Dunn, Huron Consulting Group Inc. and Merrill Corp. billed another 139,747 hours at rates between $60 and $120 per hour, according to the motion.
