CCP § 527.6 Allows Court to Award Fees to Prevailing Party.
In Narog v. Claybaugh, Case No. A131782 (1st Dist., Div. 1 Aug. 29, 2013) (unpublished), plaintiff filed a restraining order petition against neighbor defendant, who responded by seeking a declaration that plaintiff was a vexatious litigant and should have to post a bond. The trial court decided to have a mini-hearing, took testimony, and determined plaintiff was not a credible witness. He later awarded defendant statutorily-permitted fees of $23,405.04 as the prevailing party under CCP § 527.6.
The fee award easily held up on appeal. Plaintiff argued defendant did not prevail because no full merits determination was made, but one can prevail without having to have a conclusive merits ruling.
Plaintiff also griped about “fees on fees,” the inclusions of the fees spent by defendant in preparing his fee motion. This was no abuse of discretion under the circumstances, is allowed in other contexts, and was proper given that plaintiff put defendant through the expense of having to fight a petition ultimately found to not have a persuasive petitioner behind it. (Pellegrino v. Robert Half Internat., Inc., 182 Cal.App.4th 278, 294 (2010) [fees on fees case].)