Overview
- U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky awarded $604,000 in attorney fees and $38,022 in costs tied to efforts to address Oakley’s missing messages.
- MSG’s bid for about $1.5 million was pared back after the judge found some time entries impermissibly vague and capped certain professional rates at $200 per hour.
- Oakley’s lawyer called the request “wildly inflated” and said they will appeal the fee award.
- A prior appellate decision found spoliation occurred, permitting MSG to tell jurors about the deletions and to seek an adverse inference if the case goes to trial.
- The underlying suit over Oakley’s 2017 ejection remains active with summary judgment unresolved, as MSG says thousands of texts were lost when Oakley traded in his phone.