DETROIT – The attorney who represents the children of a slain exotic dancer in a civil lawsuit wants more than $735,000 in legal fees and expenses from Detroit and its former chief lawyer.
According to court filings obtained by Local 4, attorney Norman Yatooma is asking for $715,342.50 in service fees and $20,279.63 for costs related to the case, such as research, photocopying and witness fees.
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"The attorneys' fees and related expenses were reasonable and necessary because of the ever-changing stories told by the City of Detroit attorneys," Yatooma said in the filing.
Yatooma said his he and legal team spent 2,000 hours working the case, and based the expenses on his and his associates' hourly rates -- which ranged from $75 to $550.
The request was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit.
The request comes after a federal judge ordered the city and John Johnson to pay Yatooma's fees after concluding the city destroyed emails.
Yatooma said emails exchanged during Kwame Kilpatrick's time as mayor could link the ex-mayor, police officials and others to impeding an investigation into the 2003 shooting death of Tamara Greene. The $150-million lawsuit is against the city and Kilpatrick.
Greene was rumored to have danced at a never-proven 2002 party at the mayoral mansion.