Successful Party in Arbitration, Suffering Setback on Appeal, Was Not a Prevailing Party.
In Guerra v. Aurora Loan Services, LLC, Case No. H038813 (6th Dist. Sept. 19, 2014) (unpublished), a lower court denied a successful arbitration litigant his fees in connection with an equally successful petition to confirm the arbitration award. The trial court denied the fee motion on the ground the other side was not a party to the agreement containing a fees clause. Successful party claimed the trial court erred, because he prevailed. The appellate court disagreed, because it reversed the judgment confirming the arbitration award on the ground the other side should not have been compelled to arbitrate in the first place. That meant the “successful” party no longer prevailed, meaning no fee entitlement basis—no arbitration basis, no fee award.