Lyft’s $1 Million Legal Fees Bid Sinks in California Patent Suit

Lyft Inc.’s patent-related settlement with Quartz Auto Technologies LLC blocks the rideshare company from receiving over $1 million in attorneys’ fees in its declaratory judgment action, a California federal judge ruled.

The companies’ January 2023 settlement over Lyft’s allegations that it did not infringe four patents stated each party would bear its own costs, according to an order filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Judge Jon S. Tigar said the stipulation did not specify whether Lyft had the right to pursue attorneys’ fees for any of the four patents.

Lyft shouldn’t have ...