Los Angeles attorney Stephen Yagman won a civil rights case against Police Chief Daryl Gates and nine Special Investigations Section officers. The plaintiffs alleged that the officers had used excessive force when they fired 35 times at four robbers on February 12, 1990, killing three. A jury awarded $44,000.

Then Yagman submitted his bill for legal fees, which under federal regulations must be paid by the city. Yagman said he had spent 800 hours on the case with 683 hours' worth of help from three other attorneys. Total bill: $987,684. Yagman charged $350 an hour for his own 800 hours on the case and then doubled the amount due to the "complexity" and the risk of losing the case. If his request is approved by U.S. District Judge J. Spencer Letts, Yagman will receive $560,000.

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