OCBA ZOOM Meeting On August 5, 2021 Provides Some Nice Guidance. On August 5, 2021, Justice Richard Fybel provided a symposium for lawyers and judges on how California judges (and lawyers, for the matter) should ethically guide themselves, both in court and out of court, under the California Code/Canon of Ethics. Here are the […]
$150,000 Was The Fee Award Affirmed In Lenders’ Favor As Prevailing Cross-Defendants. Hom v. Petrou, Case No. A161770 (1st Dist., Div. 4 Aug. 3, 2021) (published) involved a $150,000 contractual attorney’s fees award in favor of lenders obtaining a dismissal of a cross-complaint alleging primarily tort claims. The 1/4 DCA affirmed, holding that there
At The End, Joint/Several Liability Theory On The First Issue Was Rejected, And Ambiguity Construed Against Developer Drafter On The Second Issue. This next post might interest construction and insurance practitioners, although it involves the interesting intersection of contractual and insurance equitable subrogation issues—with complexities teeming! In Berg v. Pulte Home Corp., Case
No Final Judgment/Settlement Occurred, With Google Agreeing To Pay Outside Of The Common Fund, And With The Collateral Order Doctrine Not Inapplicable Under The Circumstances. The Ninth Circuit, in AdTrader, Inc. v. Google, LLC, Case No. 20-15542 (9th Cir. July 30, 2021) (published), faced an interesting fact pattern as evidenced by this passage near
Tips Are In Recent On-Line ABA Journal Article. Tabs3, in a recent ABA Journal on-line article, provided some good tips for attorneys and firms wishing to maximize collection of fees: Track your time monthly, so you can get a grip on how long billing tasks take on behalf of the client. Pre-bill as if
However, Frivolous Appeal Sanctions Denied For Failure To Show The Appeal Was Brought For An Improper Motive. In Lazo v. Keller, Case No. G058765 (4th Dist., Div. 3 July 29, 2021) (unpublished), two plaintiffs separately were ordered by the lower court to pay $4,900 in monetary discovery sanctions to defendant. Plaintiffs’ appeal was dismissed
CCP § 1026 Was The Governing Costs Allocation Statute Regarding SLAPP Fee Award. Although this case is must reading for probate practitioners on the scope of actions for which “no contest” clauses encompass, Cadena v. Vose, Case No. F080428 (5th Dist. July 28, 2021) (unpublished) shows how fees awardable under the SLAPP statute can
The Court Of Appeal Made No Findings As To Whether FEHA Plaintiff’s Claims Were Objectively Groundless. In our Year In Review post of the top 30 decisions in 2020, we included as No. 22 the case of Ducksworth v. Tri-Modal Distribution Services, 47 Cal.App.5th 532 which had been granted review by the California
