These Expenses Needed To Be Pled And Proved, Neither Of Which Happened. Although the discussion of this issue was not published, Tierney v. Javaid, Case No. A147221 (1st Dist., Div. 3 May 31, 2018) (partially published; costs discussion unpublished) is a stark reminder that a litigant may need to plead and prove certain litigation […]
Lack Of Reporter’s Transcript Sealed The Result. In Ayoub v. Candee, Case No. D073279 (4th Dist., Div. 1 May 31, 2018) (unpublished), adjoining rural property owners in Temecula got into an “ado” regarding easements. Eventually, the losing parties/appellants were hit with $59,700 in attorney’s fees for making unjustified requests for admission denials under CCP
Fourth Circuit Joins Fifth And Ninth Circuits On Preponderance of Evidence Burden Of Proof. In Verisign Incorporated v. XYZ.COM, LLC, No. 17-1704 (4th Cir. May 29, 2018) (published), the Fourth Circuit vacated and remanded an attorney’s fees denial order in a Lanham Act case. In doing so, the federal appeals court decided: (1) the
Both Sides Had Paid Or Owed A Cumulative $1.841 Million In Dissolution Proceedings. We are not sure that the appellate court was happy with any of the parties in this case that we now report on. After all, in the dissolution saga, ex-husband had paid attorneys $900,000, still owing $70,000, while ex-wife had paid
$198,000 Was The Mean Annual Compensation, And Most Attorneys Would Have Chosen A Law Career Again. The Martindale Legal Marketing Network, in 2018, has initiated its first annual Attorney Compensation Report which involved a survey of more than 7,800 U.S. attorneys across two dozen practice areas—concentrating on 6,902 full-time practitioners who were either solo
Appellate Court Can Fix, But Better Practice Is To Have Trial Judge Do So. Prevailing parties on appeal in a situation where a written agreement provides for fees are entitled to receive a fee award as the winners on appeal. (Stairpoint Properties, LLC v. Namvar, 201 Cal.App.4th 1101, 1111 (2011).) When this happens, who
Trial Judge Correctly Dismissed Trustee’s Interpleader Complaint. In Placer Foreclosure, Inc. v. Aflalo, Case No. B268589 (2d Dist., Div. 6 May 30, 2018) (published), a foreclosure trustee foreclosed an owner’s property based on a deed of trust, with the sale resulting in surplus proceeds of $ 974,786.81. The former owner sued trustee and foreclosure buyer
Prison Litigation Reform Act Did Not Cap Unruh Act Fee Recovery. In Rodriguez v. County of Los Angeles, No. 13-56292 et al. (9th Cir. May 30, 2018) (published), the Ninth Circuit reviewed and affirmed 42 U.S.C. § 1983 excessive force verdicts of $740,000 in compensatory damages and $210,000 in punitive damages (the latter against
$5 Million In Legal, Accounting, And Consulting Fees Relating To Private Fraud Investigation In Bankruptcy Proceedings Not Recoverable Under The Act. In Lagos v. United States, No. 16-1519 (U.S. Sup. Ct. May 29, 2018), petitioner was convicted of using a company he controlled to defraud a lender of tens of millions of dollars. After the
Litigant Failed To Show Fee Entitlement. Assuming that a fee motion is timely filed, the next big obstacle for a fee claimant is demonstrating – drum roll time! – fee entitlement. That obstacle was not cleared by appellant in Schneider v. Deam, Case No. A150027 (1st Dist., Div. 2 May 29, 2018) (unpublished).
