Gracedale Grappler Otter Gets No Att'y Fees, Says Baratta

In a ruling handed down this afternoon, Judge Baratta has denied Larry Otter's motion for $21,960 in attorney's fees from me. In fact, he has sua sponte dismissed a similar claim for $8,053.65 from County Exec John Stoffa.

In his decision, Baratta offers this observation. "[T]here is no suggestion, let alone proof, of any conduct which could be considered vexatious, in bad faith or otherwise improper. The dispute before us was clearly a bona fide legal dispute. The issues raised by the Objectors, based on the quality of their pleadings and the record they presented during the February 4, 2011 hearing, were legitimate and brought in good faith. In fact, with regard to many of their objections, Mr. O'Hare and Mr. Angle were the prevailing party. They established that thousands of signatures were invalid, either because the signatures themselves did not meet the requirements of the Election Code or there were defects related to the circulators and/or the manner in which certain petitions were circulated."

For the legal eagles among you, Baratta's decision is below. Basically, he is saying Larry otter' know better.

Baratta Denial of Otter Request For Att'y Fees