Lawyers in JetBlue-Spirit merger case lose bid for fees

A federal judge in Boston on Thursday rejected a request for up to $34.1m in legal fees by a group of private antitrust lawyers who sued to stop the proposed $3.8b merger between JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines.<br/>U.S. District Judge William Young denied the fee request in a brief electric order. "The plaintiff's motion is denied because in no sense were any of the plaintiffs a 'prevailing party' in this action," Young wrote. The airlines abandoned their merger in March after Young sided with the U.S. Department of Justice in a separate government case challenging the deal, ruling that it would harm consumers. One of the lawyers who sought the fees, Joseph Alioto of the Alioto Law Firm in San Francisco, said Young relied on the wrong statute in rejecting their request. "Private plaintiffs are encouraged to bring these suits, and this minute order says, 'Don't bother,'" Alioto said. He said he will be filing a motion asking Young to set his ruling aside and have a hearing on the merits of their fee request. Spokespersons for JetBlue and Spirit did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The airlines were represented by attorneys from Cooley and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. The airlines had opposed the fee request and accused the private lawyers of piggy-backing on the government's case. After the airlines dropped the merger, the private lawsuit was dismissed as moot, a fact the airlines pointed to in their opposition papers filed last month.<br/>