Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon was recently ordered by a judge to pay a New York law firm $480,487 in unpaid legal bills. The judge also awarded the law firm, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, additional fees for having to sue Bannon to collect the owed amount. Bannon had argued against the bill, claiming that the law firm was not entitled to charge for work related to certain legal cases and that he never personally received or paid the invoices.
However, the judge dismissed Bannon’s arguments, highlighting that the law firm had already been paid $375,000 for previous work and stating that Bannon cannot benefit from their legal representation and then refuse to pay for it.
Bannon’s current lawyer, Harlan Protass, has expressed disagreement with the judge’s decision and intends to immediately appeal.
This ruling comes as Bannon faces a criminal trial in May 2024 for allegedly defrauding donors to a project aimed at building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Bannon was previously pardoned by former President Donald Trump for a federal criminal prosecution related to the same alleged scam. He is also appealing a conviction and jail sentence for contempt of Congress.
If Bannon chooses to appeal the judge’s decision on the unpaid fees, he may end up owing even more in legal fees. His former lawyer, Robert Costello, states that Bannon stopped paying their bills and ceased communication, leaving them no choice but to pursue legal action.
The judge added a 1% interest rate on the awarded legal fees, which may increase to 9% annually if post-judgment court documents are filed.
Costello describes the situation as a lose-lose proposition for Bannon and regrets having to sue him, as he personally likes Bannon.
In his response to the lawsuit, Bannon claimed that he instructed Costello to stop working for him in January 2022 and that Costello performed unrelated work. However, the judge determined that documentary evidence showed Bannon accepting legal representation from the firm well after the alleged instruction to cease work.
Overall, this legal battle over unpaid fees adds to Bannon’s ongoing legal troubles and further complicates his situation.
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