Lower Court Impliedly Extended The Fee Filing Deadline, With The Failure To File An Income/Expense Statement Found Nonprejudicial In Nature.
Bryan v. Bryan, Case No. E080311 (4th Dist., Div. 2 July 1, 2024) (unpublished) is a case where ex-husband was awarded $72,776.25 in appellate fees (out of a requested $90,000) for winning an appeal involving ex-wife’s claimed breach of fiduciary duty under Family Code section 1101(g), although ex-husband was denied Family Code section 271 sanctions. Both parties appealed, but all determinations were affirmed.
The appellate court found that the lower court impliedly allowed ex-husband to exceed the 40-day post-remittitur time deadline to file a fee motion. It also found that his failure to file a FL-150 income/expense statement was nonprejudicial in nature. However, ex-husband lost the 271 denial challenge because he failed to allocate fees for this request versus throwing them into “one pot.”