In Erie County, deputies ordered Metcalf to pay $5.4 million in fees

Acting state Supreme Court Justice Mark Grisanti also said he will decide Thursday how much the county and deputies owe in interest — about $900,000, or about half that amount — going back to the April jury award.

Until the county and deputies reach a verdict in Metcalf’s 2012 death, which occurred after his incarceration at the detention center, interest could continue to accrue as much as $4,900 a day, lawyers involved in the case estimate.

The money is in addition to the $20 million Metcalf accepted last week after the original $100 million jury award was reduced by 80% by Grisanti, who said the original amount was unreasonably high.

Attorney fees could continue to increase, depending on whether the county appeals.

Metcalf, 35, died on Nov. 30, 2012, two days after deputies forcibly removed him from his cell at the downtown jail and restrained him face down for about 29 minutes. While he was restrained, deputies placed a “spit mask” and pillowcase over his head, which the state Commission of Corrections said cut off his airway.

The county was found guilty because it received notice before 2012 that jail conditions did not protect inmates’ civil rights. Four of the five deputies were convicted of using excessive force, while the jury found that all five showed “deliberate indifference” to Metcalf’s medical needs, violating his civil rights.

The attorneys handling Metcalf’s estate at Brown Chiari asked the judge to award about $6 million in fees, but Grisanti reduced that amount by 10 percent. The judge cited some “duplicity” in documents presented by the company, adding: “This is not a serious matter.”

Because the case involved a civil rights violation, the plaintiff’s lawyers were entitled under federal law to demand payment from the other side.

The deputy and county attorneys – from Lippes Mathias, as well as attorneys Brian Melber and James DeMarco – asked Grisanti to reduce the amount by 80% to about $1.2 million. Grisanti called the request “totally inappropriate.”

Grisanti awarded the plaintiff approximately $5.2 million in attorneys’ fees and another $202,000 to cover some of the firm’s costs.

In August, The Buffalo News reported that this was the case in the county over $2 million in legal bills of their own in connection with the case.

Metcalf’s family filed the lawsuit in 2013. Earlier this year, a jury trial lasted more than 10 weeks.

Brown Chiari took up the case on an emergency basis and will receive 33% regardless of the verdict. The $5.4 million Grisanti ordered the district and deputies will go towards covering this unforeseen situation.

The company did not include all of its work in its fee request filed with the court, attorney Michael Scinta told the judge. Scinta said district attorneys and deputies fought them “everything,” including after the verdict.

“The company’s success in achieving an initial $100 million jury verdict is a testament to the company’s preparation and work,” he said.

“We knew every inch of every document in that courtroom,” he said. “We knew every lie that was told.”