A Federal Judge in the District of Massachusetts has denied a US$34.1 million legal fee request made by private antitrust attorneys who opposed the US$3.8-billion JetBlue-Spirit merger. Judge William Young ruled that the lawyers were not prevailing parties, as the private lawsuit was dismissed as moot after the government case against the merger succeeded.
JetBlue and Spirit contended that the private attorneys were “piggy-backing” on the government’s case, emphasizing that their lawsuit was dismissed without trial. Represented by Cooley LLP and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, the airlines argued that the private attorneys had not contributed significantly to the case outcome.
Joseph Alioto, one of the private attorneys, disputed the ruling, suggesting it could discourage future private antitrust actions. He argued that their lawsuit influenced the airlines’ decision to abandon the merger rather than appeal the government’s case.