Court Denies Motion For Attorneys’ Fees

Posted: August 11, 2025 / Written by: Jeffrey M. Eilender, Thomas A. Kissane, Samuel L. Butt, Joshua Wurtzel, Channing J. Turner / Categories Commercial, Attorney Fees

Court Denies Motion For Attorneys’ Fees

On July 3, 2025, Justice Joel M. Cohen denied movants’ motion for attorneys’ fees in ARC NYWWPJV001, LLC v. WWP JV LLC, Index No. 654977/2022. The Court explained:

In these circumstances, and for the reasons asserted in opposition to the motion, the Moving Parties’ application for an award of fees and costs must be denied. Section 15.20 does not extend to “any and all disputes” or to all claims “relating to” the agreement or other similarly broad language sometimes found in such agreements. Instead, it provides for “Recovery of Certain Fees” (emphasis added) and specifically refers only [to] actions initiated “by reason of any breach” and carves out only one other type of action for specific performance (cf Malkani v Cunningham, 2024 WL 807401, at *4 [Del Ch Feb. 27, 2024], judgment entered, [Del Ch 2024], and affd sub nom, 2025 WL 1409097 [Del May 15, 2025] [awarding attorney’s fees under prevailing party provision for declaratory judgment where the fee-shifting provision provided “that, with respect to ‘any dispute’ among these parties, ‘the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover from the losing party all fees, costs and expenses’ ‘of enforcing any right under or with respect to’ the contract.”]). Moreover, the Court did not declare that there was any breach, nor did any party request such relief. The Moving Parties’ suggestion that WWP JV “threatened” a breach or that a breach was anticipatory is unpersuasive and not supported by the record or claims asserted.

Contact the Commercial Division Blog Committee at commercialdivisionblog@schlamstone.com if you or a client have questions concerning attorneys’ fees.