Fee Issues Depended On Further Actions.
In O’Leary v. Jones III, Case No. D085327 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Mar. 24, 2026) (published), the Court of Appeal confirmed a denial of attorney’s fees to an arbitration respondent, who was never joined in a court action before the matter was ordered to arbitration such that the respondent, as superior court found, was not subject to arbitration jurisdiction when the superior court dismissed respondent at an arbitration confirmation request. However, because the respondent did win an arbitration dismissal, respondent should have been awarded routine costs for the dismissal. The upshot is that the arbitration dismissal did not preclude the arbitration winner from pursuing respondent lease guarantor in a different forum, but the arbitration dismissal was only an interim win with respect to a fee recovery.