No Attorneys' Fee Award Based On Dismissed Counterclaim

Burford v. Accounting Practice Sales, Inc.

In an appeal between two parties to a contract for marketing and selling defendant's accounting practices in various states, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit addressed whether the defendant breached the contract by terminating plaintiff and whether the district court abused its discretion by denying attorneys' fees for defendant's counterclaim. On the first issue, the 7th Circuit reversed the district court's breach of contract analysis, granting summary judgment in favor of defendant, but affirmed the district court's denial of attorneys' fees under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a) of the Lanham Act. Burford v. Accounting Practice Sales, Inc., Case No. 14-2692 (7th Cir., May 13, 2015) (Hamilton, J.).