Requested Sanctions of $14,623.91 Are Pared Down to $6,750.
In Girardi v. Princess Cruises, Case No. B217192 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Aug. 24, 2010) (unpublished), appellants were found to have prosecuted a frivolous appeal based on the standards set forth in the California Supreme Court in In re Marriage of Flaherty, 31 Cal.3d 637, 650 (1982) [one of our Leading Cases]. The objective lack of merit to the appeal was substantive basis for the appellate court’s frivolousness determination.
Respondent requested to recoup $14,623.91 in attorney’s fees as the appropriate sanction. So what did the Court of Appeal? It issued sanctions of $6,750. Reason? Respondents’ counsel’s time to cure the incomplete record filed by appellants and preparing/attending oral argument was a little too hefty. In doing so, the appellate panel believed that preparing for and attending local oral argument on a single-issue, nonmeritorious matter "reasonably should consume no more than five hours of attorney time." (Slip Opn., p. 10.)