by Mindy Aguon

Guam - The government calls $2.2 million in legal fees "grossly excessive" for the class action tax refund lawsuit. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Orcutt has asked the court to award $339,000 to the California attorneys and $242,000 for the Guam attorneys who worked on the case. He opposes the $2.2 million request, saying the plaintiffs failed to supplement the record by producing their time record and the hourly rates are excessive for the nature of the lawsuit, which he contends was not overly complex.

Additionally, Orcutt contends that attorneys should not be entitled to reimbursement for $20,000 in travel expenses, lodging and meals; as well as another $31,000 for computerized research, and $57,000 they claimed for paralegal compensation. Jeffrey and Rea Paeste and Sharon Zapanta filed the lawsuit against the government for the timely and fair payment of tax refunds on Guam.

As a result, the District Court of Guam imposed a permanent injunction on the government and ordered the government to pay tax refunds within six months from the time they are filed. Orcutt contends that $2.2 million is excessive for the work that was performed by nine California lawyers, two Guam lawyers, and two Guam paralegals, as well as an unidentified and unspecified number of California litigation assistants.