March 2017

Assignment: Can A Guarantor Of Attorney’s Fees Defend Against Fee Recovery Based On Malpractice Claim Of Obligor/Client Without Client Involvement?

Cases: Assignment

  No California Case Directly On Point, But Two Out-Of-State Cases Suggest “No.”       Can a guarantor of a client’s fee obligation to client’s attorney sue the attorney for malpractice if the client does not somehow participate or intervene? Although there is no California case on the subject to our knowledge, two out-of-state decisions suggest […]

Fee Clause Interpretation/Section 1717: $1.79 Million Fee Award To Prevailing Defendants Was Excised As A Matter Of Law From Judgment Based On Lack Of Fee Entitlement

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Section 1717

  Plaintiff Sued On An Oral Agreement Which Was Not Within The Scope Of Stock Purchase Agreement Fee Clause Relied On By The Defense.        Fee entitlement is a basic issue, often tethered to whether a fees clause in a written contract covers the claims at issue in a complaint or cross-complaint. If it

Class Action/In The News . . . . Federal Judge Approves Hefty Fee For Class Counsel In 2.0 Liter Diesel Emissions Class Action

Cases: Class Actions, In The News

  VW Plant, Wolfsburg, Germany. En.wikipedia. User: HighContrast. Creative Commons licnese.       According to Law360, a California federal judge recently approved $167 million in fees and $8 million in costs to class counsel in the Volkswagen emissions class action, relating to the part of the case which involved 2.0 liter VW diesel cars. Stay tuned,

Retainer Agreements: ABA Formal Opinion 475 Explains How To Treat Received Fees Where Different Attorneys Have Disparate Interests In The Funds

Cases: Retainer Agreements

  Opinion Was Issued On December 7, 2016.      ABA Formal Opinion 475 addresses how to deal with received fees from a client when different attorneys provided services to the client. Actually, a two part process is involved: (1) the fees must be held by the receiving attorney separate from the lawyer’s own separate property

Special Fee Shifting Statute: Failure To Request Attorney’s Fees In Civil Harassment TRO Proceeding Was Not Fatal To Their Award

Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

  Default Judgment Principles Did Not Apply To Fee Recovery.       In Eftekhari v. Ford, Case No. B271555 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Mar. 14, 2017) (unpublished), plaintiff won $8,125 in attorney’s fees against defendant in a civil harassment proceeding based on a fee-shifting statute. On appeal, defendant argued the trial judge lacked authority to award

In The News . . . . Southern California Edison Obtains Moneys From Mitsubishi Heavy Industries For San Onofre Nuclear Plant Steam Generator Failures, But Gives Some Back In Legal Expenses After Losing International Arbitration To Beat Contractual Cap

In The News

  $125 Million Won, But $58 Million In Legal Expenses Taken Away.     Aerial view of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in San Diego County, California, May 26, 2012. Author: Jelson25. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.       Southern California Edison apparently commenced an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration to see if could exceed

Probate: Constructive Trust Motion By Trust Beneficiaries Against Relied Trust Attorneys Properly Denied With Respect To Setting Aside Prior Fee Judgment

Cases: Probate

    Trial Judge Rightly Found Set Aside Issue Needed To Be Addressed In A Separate Proceeding.       In Sheen v. Sheen, Case No. B268762 (2d Dist., Div. 8 Mar. 10, 2017) (unpublished), relieved attorneys representing a trust successfully recovered an attorney’s fees judgment by which moneys were received from the trust. Trust beneficiaries then

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