Sand Hill Advisors, LLC v. San Dhill Advisors, LLC, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97011 (N.D. Cal. 2010)

Plaintiff sued defendant and defendant prevailed at summary judgment (see original post).  Defendant moved for attorneys fees.  The magistrate recommended denying attorneys fees and defendant sought de novo review from the district court.

The district court agreed with the magistrate that this was not an exceptional case warranting attorneys fees because plaintiff had colorable grounds for bringing suit.  “A case is not exceptional simply because the court granted summary judgment; otherwise, every Lanham Act case in which a summary judgment motion was granted would be considered an ‘exceptional case.’” (page 6). The defendant must prove exceptional circumstances and as such defendants are rarely awarded attorney fees.  The court then explained why plaintiff had a colorable argument on each claim.

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