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In The News . . . . OpEd Article In April 6, 2026 Issue Of The Orange County Register Shows That PAGA Lawsuits And Settlements Have Soared
Attorney Payouts Highlighted In The Article. Tom Manzo, founder of the California Business and Industrial Alliance, wrote an OpEd piece, “Will state get serious about…
Lodestar, Retainer Agreements: After Lower Court Determined That Retainer Agreement Was Unconscionable And Determined Client Owed Nothing Under A Quantum Meruit Recovery, The Appellate Court Reduced The Contractual Fee Award To Client For Dilatory Conduct
This Case Shows How, Even On Appeal, Justices Will Try To Balance Equity On Fee Awards. In Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae v. Yakobi,…
Family Law: Under A Marital Settlement Agreement’s Prevailing Party Fee Clause, The Family Law Judge Can Consider Financial Needs Of The Litigants, Namely, Family Code Section 2030 And 2032 Factors
Civil Code Section 1717 Lodestar Factors Alone Do Not Restrict The Family Court In Deciding Prevailing Party Contractual Fees. Marriage of Bowman, Case No. B331924…
Equity: Two Of Our Readers Obtained An Award Of Attorney’s Fees And Costs For Their Client (A Defendant/Cross-Complainant) As A Condition Of A Superior Court’s Order Equitably Vacating A Default Against A Cross-Defendant
This Is One Of The Larger Fee/Costs Award We Have Seen In This Area, But The Fees And Costs Encompassed Several Other Pre-Trial Proceedings On…
Costs: Prevailing Party’s Cost Memorandum Was Timely Filed After Entry Of Judgment On A Retrial Following An Earlier Granting Of A New Trial Motion
Also, Appellant’s Apportionment Argument Based On Relative Successes Had No Factual Analysis, So It Was Rejected. In Mileck v. Mileck, Case No. A170748 (1st Dist.,…
Tort Of Another: Although It Is Not An Independent Cause Of Action, The Doctrine Could Be Pursued As A Component Of Damages In Plaintiff’s Tort Claims Against Her Broker Relating To A Residential House Purchase
Plaintiff’s Prior Loss In An Arbitration Against Seller And Seller’s Broker Did Not Prevent Application Of The Doctrine. Plaintiff buyer of a residential house was…
POOF!, Section 1717: Because Plaintiff’s Declaratory Relief Action Was Moot, The Ensuing $165,000 Fee Award Under Section 1717 Went POOF! As A Matter Of Law
Lower Court Should Have Dismissed The Case, Not Enter Judgment In Plaintiff’s Favor. In Currency Corp. v. The Pullman Group LLC, Case Nos. B340592 et…
Special Fee Shifting Statutes: $6,000 Fee Award To Prevailing Respondent In CHRO Proceeding Was No Abuse Of Discretion Under CCP § 527.6
Respondent’s Counsel Discounted His Fees; And, While Inability to Pay Is Not A 527.6 Factor, The Lower Court Did Take It Into Account By Allowing…
Tort Of Another: First District Confirms That This Doctrine Does Not Extend To Fees Expended In Suing A Direct Tortfeasor Where The Defendant Had An Adverse Fee Award In The Underlying Action
A Third Party Had To Be Involved, Not The Case. Guinnane Construction Co. v. Chess, Case No. A172999 (1st Dist., Div. 2 Mar. 26, 2026)…
Homeowner Associations, POOF!: In A Case Involving Two Homeowners, 4/1 DCA’s Majority Opinion Struck An Attorney’s Fees Award Completely Because It Was Premature And Plaintiff Was Not The Prevailing Party
Dissent Disagreed, Wanting To Remand The Matter For Determining A Reasonable Fee Award–$138,875 In Fees Went POOF! Based On The Majority Opinion. In an interesting…
Fee Clause Interpretation, Prevailing Party: Where Defendant Minimally Prevailed On A Declaratory Relief Claim But County Avoided $6 Million Exposure On A Negligent Misrepresentation Count, County Was Entitled To Over $800,000 In Attorney’s Fees And A Little Under $24,000 In Costs Under A Contractual Fee Clause
Under A Broad Contractual Fees Clause, The Lower Court Can Determine The Prevailing Party—Much To The Chagrin Of A Losing Party. We have posted for…
Costs: Where Party Moving To Tax Appellate Costs Demonstrated That Party Paid Some Expenses, The Burden Shifted To The Costs-Claiming Party To Provide Receipts
The Motion To Tax Costs Did Shift The Burden Back To The Costs Claimant—Not Met. In Deen v. Kreditor, Case No. G064426 (4th Dist., Div….
Retainer Agreements: Plaintiff Disputing Allocation To Her As Client And To Her Attorneys Lost The Fight Because The Retainer Agreement Had A Provision Stating That No Contingency Arrangements Applied To Settlements Where Individual Recovery And Fee Recovery To Counsel Were Separately Negotiated
Plaintiff Herself Was A Sophisticated Litigant, With The Lower And Appellate Courts Finding The Retainer Agreement Was Unambiguous In The Proper Allocation. Brinkman v. Jane…
Arbitration, Section 1717: Where Arbitration Respondent Won A Dismissal Of An Arbitration Award Based On Lack of Personal Jurisdiction, Respondent Was Not Entitled To Fees But Was Entitled To Routine Costs
Fee Issues Depended On Further Actions. In O’Leary v. Jones III, Case No. D085327 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Mar. 24, 2026) (published), the Court…
Costs, Requests For Admission, Special Fee Shifting Statutes: In A Complex Water Diversion/Trespass Case, 2/7 DCA Affirms Costs Award To Defendant City, Affirms Denial Of Supplemental Fees And Costs To City Under CCP §§ 1038 & 2033.420, And Reverses Costs Award To Defendant Water Committee Based On Reversing A Judgment In Its Favor
Acting Presiding Justice Segal Penned The 3-0 Opinion On Various Merits, Costs, And Fee Issues In A 74-Page Opinion. In Beecham v. City of Azusa,…
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In The News . . . . OpEd Article In April 6, 2026 Issue Of The Orange County Register Shows That PAGA Lawsuits And Settlements Have Soared
Attorney Payouts Highlighted In The Article. Tom Manzo, founder of the California Business and Industrial Alliance, wrote an OpEd piece, “Will state get serious about labor code lawsuit reform?,” in the April 6, 2026 issue of The Orange County Register. In it, he mentions that in 2024, the year lawmakers were supposed to enact a…
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Lodestar, Retainer Agreements: After Lower Court Determined That Retainer Agreement Was Unconscionable And Determined Client Owed Nothing Under A Quantum Meruit Recovery, The Appellate Court Reduced The Contractual Fee Award To Client For Dilatory Conduct
This Case Shows How, Even On Appeal, Justices Will Try To Balance Equity On Fee Awards. In Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae v. Yakobi, Case No. B338762 et al. (2d Dist., Div. 8 Apr. 3, 2026) (unpublished), a client won a fee dispute against her former attorneys, with the lower court finding certain provisions…
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Family Law: Under A Marital Settlement Agreement’s Prevailing Party Fee Clause, The Family Law Judge Can Consider Financial Needs Of The Litigants, Namely, Family Code Section 2030 And 2032 Factors
Civil Code Section 1717 Lodestar Factors Alone Do Not Restrict The Family Court In Deciding Prevailing Party Contractual Fees. Marriage of Bowman, Case No. B331924 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Apr. 3, 2026) (published) held that a family law judge can consider financial needs and ability to pay (Family Code section 2030 and 2032 factors) in…
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Equity: Two Of Our Readers Obtained An Award Of Attorney’s Fees And Costs For Their Client (A Defendant/Cross-Complainant) As A Condition Of A Superior Court’s Order Equitably Vacating A Default Against A Cross-Defendant
This Is One Of The Larger Fee/Costs Award We Have Seen In This Area, But The Fees And Costs Encompassed Several Other Pre-Trial Proceedings On The Subject. Two readers of our blog, Ronald C. Foreman and Ian A. Hansen of Foreman & Brasso in San Francisco, are to be congratulated as well as “hat tipped”…
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Costs: Prevailing Party’s Cost Memorandum Was Timely Filed After Entry Of Judgment On A Retrial Following An Earlier Granting Of A New Trial Motion
Also, Appellant’s Apportionment Argument Based On Relative Successes Had No Factual Analysis, So It Was Rejected. In Mileck v. Mileck, Case No. A170748 (1st Dist., Div. 3 Mar. 27, 2026) (unpublished), appellant/non-prevailing party filed a motion to tax costs against the prevailing party, with the lower court only taxing $520 out a requested $29,238.98 in…
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Tort Of Another: Although It Is Not An Independent Cause Of Action, The Doctrine Could Be Pursued As A Component Of Damages In Plaintiff’s Tort Claims Against Her Broker Relating To A Residential House Purchase
Plaintiff’s Prior Loss In An Arbitration Against Seller And Seller’s Broker Did Not Prevent Application Of The Doctrine. Plaintiff buyer of a residential house was not pleased after discovering that the property reeked of cigarette smoke. She first sued seller and seller’s broker primarily for nondisclosure, and she lost an arbitration against them (naturally incurring…