Matter of Gonnard v. Guido (2016)

Nor did the court err in declining to award attorney's fees as plaintiff did not prevail on her contempt motions ( see Matter of Gonnard v Guido , 141 AD3d 649, 650 [2d Dept 2016]).

The court properly limited its award to fees incurred that were directly related to its contemptuous conduct ( see Matter of Gonnard v Guido , 141 AD3d 649, 650 [2d Dept 2016]).

The Court further finds that Mr. Diamond is entitled to a fine in the form of costs and expenses consisting of reasonable counsel fees for work performed in bringing this Order to Show Cause, plus a $250 fine, as Dr. Cooperman’s conduct in violation of the August 31, 2023 Order caused these costs and expenses to be incurred (Judiciary Law 773 [“Where it is not shown that such an actual loss or injury has been caused, a fine may be imposed, not exceeding the amount of the com…

Attorney's fees that are documented and directly related to the contemptuous conduct are generally recoverable unless they are proven excessive or reduced by the court in a reasoned decision" ( Matter of Gonnard v Guido , 141 AD3d 649, 650 [citation omitted]; see Matter of McNelis v Carrington , 116 AD3d 858, 859 ).

The detailed billing records submitted by the plaintiff’s counsel establish that the legal fees were reasonable and directly related to the defendant’s contemptuous conduct, and the amount of the award did not constitute an improvident exercise of discretion (see Matter of Gonnard v Guido, 141 AD3d 649, 650 [2016]; Pelgrim v Pelgrim, 127 AD3d 710, 714 [2015]).

Attorney’s Fees The Court finds that the Board is entitled to reasonable counsel fees incurred in bringing the contempt motions (Motion Seq. 003 and 004), as Mr. Deruytter’s conduct in violation of the August 2024 Order caused the Board to incur such expenses (Judiciary Law § 773; Abrams v Abrams, 227 AD3d 403 [1st Dept 2024] [“Pursuant to Judiciary Law § 773, a court may award reasonable costs and expenses, including attorney fees, to an aggrieved party as a result of conte…

This appeal ensued. "'Judiciary Law § 773 permits recovery of attorney's fees from the offending party by a party aggrieved by the contemptuous conduct'" ( Vider v Vider , 85 AD3d 906, 908 , quoting Schwartz v Schwartz , 79 AD3d 1006, 1010 [internal quotation marks omitted]; see Judiciary Law § 773). "'Attorney's fees that are documented and directly related to the contemptuous conduct are generally recoverable unless they are proven excessive or reduced by the court in a re…