Requested Fees/Costs Of Almost $6,700 Were Not Reasonable Or Necessary Under CCP § 685.040.
In Padilla III v. Jakubaitis, Case No. G057424 (4th Dist., Div. 3 June 30, 2020) (unpublished), a SLAPP defendant successfully had stricken one cause of action, with the trial court awarding it about $14,300 in mandatory fees/costs. While things were on appeal, plaintiff interpled $22,000 as the equivalent of an appellate undertaking. However, defendant undertook some postjudgment enforcement efforts, then moving to recover almost $6,700 in fees and costs under CCP § 685.040, a postjudgment fee-shifting statute allowing recovery of reasonable and necessary as collectible costs after the SLAPP grant was affirmed. The trial judge found most of the fees/costs were not reasonable or not necessary, awarding only $735. Defendant appealed, but the appellate court affirmed because the record showed plaintiff did try to “secure” the trial level fee/costs award, and the defense did not demonstrate its activities met the “reasonable/necessity” standard. Justice Fybel penned the 3-0 decision for the court.