The Minnesota Vikings want Wells Fargo to pay $655,020 in attorneys fees and $17,068 in costs for a "photo-bombing" lawsuit over signs on top of two 17-story office towers near the new U.S. Bank Stadium, according to a motion filed Thursday.
Minnesota Vikings seek $655,000 in attorneys fees from Wells Fargo because of sign dispute
Team's lawyers billed 1,738 hours during dispute over Wells Fargo signs, filing says.
July 8, 2016 at 12:45AM
Late in June, U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank ruled in favor of the Vikings in a dispute over two elevated, illuminated Wells Fargo signs on the rooftops of the two towers adjacent to the new Vikings' stadium, which is scheduled for a ribbon-cutting July 22.
Frank ruled that Wells Fargo had "unambiguously" breached a contract that required the signs to be painted flat on the rooftop and no bigger than 56 feet by 56 feet. Instead, Wells Fargo installed signs that were elevated 38 inches that could be illuminated.
When the Vikings filed the lawsuit, the team accused Wells Fargo of elbowing into the image of the new $1.1 billion stadium that will be broadcast before each game, including the 2018 Super Bowl.
The NFL team successfully argued that the raised signs were a violation of a two-year-old agreement with Ryan Companies, the developer of the Wells Fargo project.
Frank told Wells Fargo to remove the signs, which cost the bank $490,000. He also ordered the bank to pay attorneys fees to the Vikings.
In the latest memo to the court, Vikings' lawyers note that the agreement breached by Wells Fargo entitled the winning side in a lawsuit to recoup "reasonable" attorneys fees.
The law firm Hinshaw & Culbertson had six lawyers working on the case since December 2015, the memo said. In all, the lawyers billed 1,738 hours.
The highest-paid lawyer on the case, L.J. Rotman, billed 231 hours at an hourly rate of $810. Kevin Coan, who argued the case in front of Donovan, billed 471 hours at $405 an hour. Jessica Magnuson billed 648 hours at $234 an hour. Three other associates also worked on the case.
The firm gave the team a 10 percent discount on its usual rates "as a courtesy to the Vikings, based on the volume of work Hinshaw does for the Vikings," the memo said.
The memo didn't list the specific costs for which reimbursement is sought, other than the expense of obtaining minutes from a two-year-old meeting.
Wells Fargo hasn't indicated whether it would appeal Frank's ruling.
Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747
Twitter: @rochelleolson
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