Newspaper articles related to Law Offices of The Feldman Law Firm
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Daily News (April 4, 2000)
By David Greenberg
District ordered to pay $470,000
CALABASAS -- The attorney for a Las Virgenes Municpal Water District employee who was awarded $37,500 in a job discrimination compaint two years ago has been awarded $470,000 in legal fees.
An appeals court upheld a lower court's award to Lee Feldman for his work on the 1996 case filed by Jonathan Vo, who claimed he was denied promotions and harassed based on his race and Vietnamese nationality.
"I'm certainly disappointed in what the appeals court did," said James Colbaugh, the distric'ts general manager. "given the low jury verdict award, this does not in any way equate to a (near) half-million dollar attorney award. Now we have to decide whether we want to pay it or appeal it further."
The water district's Board of Directors are expected to make that decision April 11.
The Second Appellate District Court ruling also allows Feldman to seek additional fees for time spent defending the trial court's $470,000 award.
Feldman also represented Leon Holiday, an African-American employee, who in 1996 settled a discrimination suit with the district for $380,000.
But it was Vo, who remains employed by the district, who in 1998 filed a suit seeking $616,917 in attorney
's fees for Feldman.
In January 1999, Superior Court Judge Harvey Schneider awarded Feldman $470,000.
Vo earns $30,000 to $40,000 annually, Colbaugh said.
Feldman said he planned to give an undisclosed portion of the payment to his client, under their agreement.
Arlene Post, a district spokeswoman, said the $470,000 will not necessarily mean a rate hike for the district that serves 65,000 customers in Agoura, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Westlake Village, Hidden Hills, West Hills, Chatsworth and other unincorporated areas of west Los Angeles County.
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