Neither Side Enjoyed A Substantial Financial Advantage Over The Other, Plus Ex-Husband’s Emails Showing He Intended To Make The Case “A Battle Of Attrition,” Justified Denial Of The Fee Request.
Family Code section 2030 is a needs-based fee shifting provision which allows a family law judge to “level the playing field” by ordering one side to pay the other side’s attorney’s fees where the circumstances show a financial advantage by one side and other circumstances justify such a shifting of fees.
Ex-husband, in Marriage of Papageorges, Case No. G054776 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Sept. 24, 2018) (unpublished), brought a 2030 request for ex-wife to pay $35,000 out of $58,000 in attorney’s fees which he incurred. Ex-husband also criticized the work of one of his former divorce attorneys. Ex-wife had incurred about $25,000 in fees, with ex-husband sending some improvident emails indicating he was going to make the dissolution matter a “very long, long battle of attrition,” threatening to involve the media, and observing that he was going to “start the meter and spend her money.” The trial judge denied the fee request, finding that discrepancy on what was spent was inexplicable and that ex-husband had driven up the costs based on his “battle of attrition” mentality.
The Fourth District, Division 3, in an opinion authored by Justice Goethals, affirmed. No abuse of discretion was shown in denying fees, given that (1) ex-husband provided no justification for the substantial difference in fees he incurred versus what his ex-wife incurred, (2) neither party enjoyed a substantial financial advantage over the other as far as assets and marital income, and (3) ex-husband’s emails showed that his own conduct had contributed to the fees for which he requested 2030 fee shifting. We definitely believe that ex-husband’s emails hurt his cause before both the lower and appellate courts, which signals to litigants that they need to be careful about what they say in emails—they can and will be used against you!