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After losing her defamation suit against US President Donald Trump, American porn star Stormy Daniels must pay him around $293,000 for his attorneys' fees and another $1,000 in sanctions, a federal judge in Los Angeles ordered on Tuesday, 11 December.
Otero previously noted that fees by Harder's firm — as high as $840 an hour — were reasonable but the 580 hours spent on the case appeared excessive.
She sued him for defamation after he dismissed her claims of being threatened to keep quiet about the tryst as a "total con job." The judge threw out the case in October.
Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, tweeted Tuesday's order "will never hold up on appeal."
In a statement he predicted Daniels "will never have to pay a dime" because she will receive far more — $1 million — from Trump for attorneys' fees and other costs related to a separate lawsuit Daniels brought in Los Angeles over the non-disclosure agreement.
Daniels also has alleged that her former lawyer, Keith Davidson, colluded with Cohen to have her publicly deny the affair with Trump.
Cohen has pleaded guilty to several felonies and admitted funneling money to Daniels to keep her quiet about the affair. Trump has denied the affair, but essentially acknowledged the payment to Daniels.
She also released a composite sketch of the mystery man.
She sued Trump for defamation after he responded to her allegation by tweeting: "A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!"
Otero ruled in October that Trump's statement was "rhetorical hyperbole" against a political adversary and was protected speech under the First Amendment.
"This action is virtually unprecedented in American legal history," Harder wrote in court papers. Daniels "not only brought a meritless claim for defamation against the sitting president of the United States, but she also has engaged, along with her attorney, in massive national publicity."
The Cohen and Davidson lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court is on hold until May.
(Published in an arrangement with the Associated Press)
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