Ignorance of the Law Was No CCP § 473 Excuse.
Deadlines and procedural technicalities can be a real trap for all lawyers, and can especially be gnarly when requesting attorney’s fees. Van Loon v. Winchester-Wesselink, LLC, Case No. E058826 (4th Dist., Div. 2 Dec. 3, 2014) (unpublished) illustrates this well. There, plaintiffs filed a timely costs memorandum, but no noticed motion, for purposes of seeking attorney’s fees as the prevailing party on appeal. The lower court denied the fee request based on the absence of a noticed motion, a determination affirmed on appeal. After all, the lower court did inform plaintiffs at an earlier hearing to tax routine costs that a noticed motion was needed. Plaintiffs did not follow up, with ignorance of the law being no legitimate excuse under Code of Civil Procedure section 473 so as to allow for discretionary relief under these circumstances. Ouch!