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In Ayoub v. Candee, Case No. D073279 (4th Dist., Div. 1 May 31, 2018) (unpublished), adjoining rural property owners in Temecula got into an “ado” regarding easements.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 § 2033.420.
The attorney’s fees proof-of-sanctions award was affirmed.
The real problem here was the lack of an adequate record. No reporter’s transcript of the hearing on the award was provided, such that any merits challenged was forfeited. Beyond that, the challenges to specific time entries being causally related seemed to be reasonable to the RFAs subject to the award, again based on the sparse record provided by appellants. Affirmed.