Judge Wolson issued an interesting opinion last week on an issue I hadn't seen come up before—are my fees a secret?
The defendant in Imaginear, Inc. v. Niantic, Inc., C.A. No. 24-1252-JDW (D. Del. Apr. 23, 2026) moved for fees following final judgment. In support of that motion, it included an attorney declaration that generally explained that the attorneys had agreed to some sort of discounted rates and that disclosing those rates, as well as the monthly billing amounts from which those rates could be determined, could harm both defendant and the attorneys in future negotiations.
I was a bit surprised to see this motion as I often see the rates filed publicly, but perhaps I simply don't notice the ones that are redacted silently under the usual Delaware procedures for redactions. In any event, the thrust of Niantic's motion was that this case was different from most because it involved a negotiated discount (and possibly some other sort of "alternative" arrangement -- I can't tell from the briefing).
The court granted the motion in part, allowing Niantic to redact the discounted rates, but not ...
