At argument over legal fees in Atlantic Yards timetable case, judge seems skeptical of state's defense, warns about rearguing the case, "far-fetched" fears
Maybe the lawyers who won a big case for Atlantic Yards opponents and critics will get the state to pay their fees. A hearing 12/7/12 had to leave attorneys for two community coalitions, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn and BrooklynSpeaks , with optimism about repayment of at least some of the $300,000 in attorneys' fees sought in the case that forced the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) to study the community impacts of a potential 25-year Atlantic Yards buildout. While it's always tricky to handicap oral arguments, Supreme Court Justice Marcy Friedman Friday was distinctly unreceptive to ESDC attorney Philip Karmel. Also, sharp words between Karmel and an adversary after the formal argument indicated lingering bitterness in this hard-fought sequence of cases. The Equal Access for Justice Act (EAJA) provides that fees and other expenses to the prevailing party "in any civil action brought against the state, unless the court finds that the position o...