In Selby v. Cingular Wireless LLC, Case No. G045769 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Jan. 29, 2013) (unpublished), a plaintiff in a long-running Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CRLA) battle finally lost on a judgment on the pleadings battle, which was affirmed by our local Santa Ana appellate court in a 3-0 opinion authored by Justice Bedsworth. In essence, the panel found that $25,000 in potential fee liability for successfully opposing a motion to compel arbitration before AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 131 S.Ct. 1740 (2011) and Meyer v. Sprint Spectrum L.P., 45 Cal.4th 634 (2009) did not constitute damages based on these two subsequent decisions.
Aside from finding that "Concepcion is the large animal in this room," Justice Bedsworth colorfully observed: "If [plaintiff] indeed incurred liability for $25,000 in fees for fending off Cingular’s invocation of its arbitration right in response to a lawsuit where she had not suffered ‘any damage’ at all, those costs are the legal equivalent of a self-inflicted wound, and cannot be regarded as recoverable transaction costs." (Slip Opn., pp. 9, 11.)
Concepcion. The Rhinoceros. Albrecht Durer, artist. Library of Congress.