ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An attorney for a former Allentown Schools teacher argued Tuesday in federal court that the district should cover $3.1 million in legal fees and other costs for his client, who won a First Amendment retaliation lawsuit against ASD last year.
Former Raub Middle School teacher Jason Moorehead is owed the funds because of the time, effort and money required to hold the district and its officials responsible for constitutional violations, his lawyer argued.
Moorehead was retaliated against by Allentown School District and school directors for his conservative beliefs after attending a 2021 “Stop the Steal” rally, a jury found in August.
District Court Judge John M. Gallagher heard oral arguments from attorneys Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Allentown.U.S. District Court proceedings
Though the school district’s attorneys don’t dispute Moorehead’s ability to seek legal fees and other costs, they claim the payment request was inflated and should be denied outright as a result.
District Court Judge John M. Gallagher heard oral arguments from attorneys Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Allentown.
The issues that the two legal teams disagreed about include the proper rate for compensating lawyers and the legitimacy of trial expenses, among other points of contention.
Fee petition 'breaks all the rules'
Shorav Kaushik, an attorney for ASD, said the fee petition submitted by Moorehead’s attorney “pretty much breaks all the rules.”
Kaushik brought in two Lehigh Valley attorneys to testify Tuesday. Both said Moorehead could have found an attorney in the Lehigh Valley to take on his case at a cheaper price.
After decades of experience, both attorneys have an hourly rate of $350 — AJ Fluehr, Moorehead’s attorney who has 11 years of experience, charged $1,000 an hour for his work.
Moorehead sought out his lawyers' firm, based in the Philadelphia region, because he needed attorneys with experience in high-profile, cancel-culture cases involving conservative viewpoints.AJ Fluehr, Moorehead’s attorney
Kaushik also argued Moorehead’s attorney billed hours in a way that lacks specificity and “shocks the conscience.”
Fluehr said Moorehead sought out his firm, based in the Philadelphia region, because he needed attorneys with experience in high-profile, cancel-culture cases involving conservative viewpoints.
The firm could also take on Moorehead’s case on a contingency basis, Fluehr said, meaning the attorneys would only be paid based on a victory.
Fluehr said the firm advanced more than $200,000 out of pocket to work on the case.
Fluehr said the ability to capture attorney’s fees and other costs in such civil rights cases is essential to encourage lawyers to take on those cases.
Calls for 'downward shift' too severe
Through a “largely fake disciplinary process,” Fluehr said ASD lengthened the time he and his firm had to work on Moorehead’s case.
As a result, costs and fees continued to build up, he said.
As for his billable time, Fluehr said he recorded his work accurately.
"No attorney would take their AMEX statement and dump it into a fee petition."Shorav Kaushik, attorney for Allentown School District
Additionally, ASD’s attorneys took issue with the other costs Moorehead’s legal team named for reimbursement.
“No attorney would take their AMEX statement and dump it into a fee petition,” Kaushik, an attorney for ASD, said.
In a court memo, the school district’s attorneys pointed to “irrelevant charges” from Moorehead’s legal team, such as receipts for “WaWa, Dunkin Donuts, 7-11, gas stations, and a litany of other businesses that have nothing to do with the practice of law.”
ASD’s attorney argued that if Judge Gallagher orders the defendants to pay Moorehead’s fees and costs, that amount should be only $117,433.66.
Kaushik said there should be a significant “downward shift” in the fees and costs awarded because Moorehead’s team was limited in their success.
'Essential to correct the record'
A jury awarded only $131,500 in economic and punitive damages — a small fraction of the settlement money ASD offered, which on the high end sat at $2.5 million.
Moorehead’s attorney said all the facts of the case were related and his legal team was successful on the central claim. Thus, they weren’t limited in their success.
The case was essential to correct the record, he said, because ASD wouldn’t issue an apology for its treatment of Moorehead.
Fluehr also said his team provided hypothetical reductions to the charges they submitted.
Using less severe reductions, the $3.1 million requested falls only to $1.8 million, which is still a much greater sum than the amount calculated by ASD’s attorneys.
John Freund, another attorney for the district, said Moorehead and his legal team have been consistently focused on money, and they demanded $11 million to settle during a mediation.
That was the same amount as the insurance coverage the district had available in primary and excess policies.
Fluehr denies that claim and said he didn’t even have access to information on the insurance coverage at the time.
Judge Gallagher made no judgments Tuesday.
He closed out the oral arguments, however, by suggesting the two legal teams could work to negotiate themselves on the fees.
