Harvey attorneys’ hearing set for June

Civil attorneys for Newport Beach police Sgt. Neil Harvey will argue that the city should cover their legal expenses after they successfully presented their case in a hearing rescheduled Thursday for June 11.

Lawrence Lennemann and Jack Girardi, Harvey’s lawyers, are seeking $2.14 million in attorneys fees from Newport Beach for more than two year’s worth of work preparing for Harvey’s civil suit against the city.

A jury awarded Harvey $1.2 million earlier this year after it found the department discriminated against him when he wasn’t promoted to sergeant out of retaliation and false rumors he is gay.

The attorneys were originally scheduled to argue their motion Thursday, but had it pushed back until next month.

Their fees totaled more than $1 million but are seeking twice that under a legal term called a “multiplier.”

They claim the multiplier is an incentive for attorneys to take on just cases where their clients could not usually afford their expenses and they have to invest a great deal of their time.

— Joseph Serna