Given Reversal Of Judgment On The Pleadings On This Issue, There Was No Prevailing Party Yet Such That Law Firm Properly Denied Attorney’s Fees.
In Roth v. Epps & Coulson, LLP, Case Nos. B285265 et al. (2d Dist., Div. 4 Oct. 15, 2019) (unpublished), prior counsel of record ran into a rift with their corporate client, which transferred the rights to the lawsuit to the client’s principal. A settlement was reached through a different attorney, with the principal being a party to the settlement and with the settlement subject to prior counsel’s attorney’s lien which had been filed earlier. A trial judge found that principal had no standing to file a declaratory relief claim relating to the attorney’s lien after malpractice claims were dismissed. Prior counsel moved for attorney’s fees in defeating the principal’s action, a request which was denied.
On appeal, the 2/4 DCA decided that principal, as assignee, did have standing to bring a declaratory relief action on the claimed attorney’s lien, a claim which was separate from the malpractice claims. That resulted in a reversal of the judgment on the pleadings ruling. Given that reversal, there was no prevailing party as between assignee principal and prior counsel such that the attorney’s fees request was properly denied.