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clawmann

07/18/09 11:21 AM

#179948 RE: Poptech #179937

Defendants don't get contingency arangements unless the defendant has a good defense to the plaintiff's claim(s) plus one or more good counteclaims (that the plaintiff actually owes damages to the defendant). Then maybe.

Forget about the "not confident plaintiff" getting a contingency arrangement. It is the lawyer that determines whether the claim is strong or not, and he will not put his time at risk for a case he doesn't think he can win.

Finally, you don't need to be poor. Sometimes well-heeled plaintiffs get contingency arrangements so that they don't have to go out-of-pocket for legal fees. If the attorney prevails, the attorney usually gets between 30%-45%, depending on the strength of the case and the negotiating abilities of the client and the lawyer. The wealthy client may be able to negotiate a cap. E.g, "Attorney gets 35% of the damage award subject to a max of $5 million".

If Neomedia has attorneys pursuing a case on contingency, then it is a pretty good bet that the attorneys believe the case to be both winnable and ultimately lucrative. No other way to interpret it.

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Rotten Johnny

07/18/09 7:29 PM

#179986 RE: Poptech #179937

Poptech when you can obatin the actual contractual agreement(s) between NeoMedia and their respective patent infringement attorney's, then you will be able to tell all of us exactly what the answer is to your question. Until then, nobody knows for sure what portion is fee based (cash outlay) and what portion is contingency. Albeit I would be very much inclined to believe the larger would be the later.

Regarding a defendant being represented by a contingency attorney...I simply don't think there are many such cases that work this way. However, you will need to contact your legal counsel to ask this question...as being a patent guru and owner of a firm specializing in them, I'm sure you have a few lawyers on retainer, no?