Explore thousands of curated case law summaries, expert analyses, and legal insights tailored for California attorneys. Our Articles page is your gateway to over 10,000 cited cases and abstracts — organized for fast reference and strategic research.
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Civil Rights, Reasonableness Of Fees: ADA Default Judgment With Injunctive Relief Did Change The Relationship Between The Parties, Which Means A Denial Of Attorney’s Fees Was Erroneous
However, Ninth Circuit Did Agree The District Court, On Remand, Could Find Use of Recycled Work And Errors In The Fee Petition Would Justify A Reduction On Reasonableness Grounds. In Price v. Diab, No. 25-713 (9th Cir. July 13, 2026) (published), the district court granted an American with Disability Act (ADA) plaintiff a default injunction…
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Insurance: 1/1 DCA, Despite Holding Differently Earlier, Finds That Insured Is Entitled To Brandt Fees On Appeal
It Found Baron More Persuasive. In RMB Real Estate Investments 2, LLC v. California Capital Ins. Co., Case No. A170466 (1st Dist., Div. 1 July 13, 2026) (unpublished), the appellate court affirmed a case against an insurance carrier after determining that a 10:1 punitive ratio passed constitutional muster. However, on appeal, the issue arose as…
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Appeal Sanctions, Paralegal Time, Reasonableness Of Fees: Trial Court’s Refusal To Award Contractual Fees For Paralegal Work Reversed On Appeal
Also, Attorney Fee’s Reductions Were Affirmed And Appellant Was Ordered to Pay Minimal Appeal Sanctions For AI Hallucinations In Appellate Briefing. The memorable thing about this opinion, Del Biaggio v. Bansen, Case No. A174647 (1st Dist., Div. 4 July 10, 2026) (published), is what it determined in compensating paralegal work under a contractual fees clause…
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Civil Rights: South Dakota Federal District Judge Issues A Substantial Fee/Costs Award Of Around $2.5 Million To Prevailing Plaintiffs In An Indigenous Tribal Civil Rights Dispute Involving A South Dakota Hotel
Plaintiffs Prevailed In Protracted, Bitterly-Fought Litigation Where The Jury Verdict Was Only Around $64,000 In Total. Although we usually post on California fees cases, the fee award in the federal civil rights case of NTN Collective v. Retsel Corporation d/b/a Grand Gateway Hotel, No. 5:22-cv-05027-KES (D.S.D. July 7, 2026 fee award; Doc. No. 485) caught…
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Family Law: $20,000 Monetary Sanctions Affirmed Where Losing Litigant Did Not Disclose Any Objection To Bifurcate Trial On The Premartial Agreement Validity
Delay In Asserting An Objection To Bifurcating Trial Was Dispositive. Perceived gamesmanship can be punished; we bloggers are not the judges of whether that has happened, but we only post on what we see is decided by the courts and subject to what you readers think when reading the case. Gamesmanship, we believe, was not…
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Judgment Enforcement: Lower Court’s Denial Of Post-Judgment Attorney’s Fees Was Legally Incorrect Based On The Filing Of A Costs Memorandum Rather Than A Noticed Motion
Because A Statutory Basis Allowed For Attorney’s Fees Recovery, Denial Based On A Lack Of A Contractual Basis For Fees Substantively Was Erroneous Where A Costs Memorandum Filing Allowed For Fee Recovery. In Immigrant Rights Defense Council, LLC v. Sklar, Case No. B345528 (2d Dist., Div. 5 July 9, 2026) (unpublished), somewhat of a follow-up…
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Reasonableness Of Fees, Special Fee Shifting Statutes: Although The Immigration Consultants Act Does Allow For Fee Recovery, The Lower Court Did Not Err In Reducing $40,725 Fee Request Down To $5,885.66
Reductions Fell Within The Deferential Standard Of Review For Fee Requests Under The Record In The Case Where A Fee Request Was Perceived As Excessive. The next case, Immigrants Rights Defense Council, LLC v. Sklar, Case No. B343410 (2d Dist., Div. 5 July 9, 2026) (unpublished), shows that even though a litigant gets beyond a…
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Prevailing Party, Section 1717: District Prevailing In Percentage Lease Dispute Under Contractual Leases Was Properly Awarded $137,400 In Attorney’s Fees
Contractual Ambiguity Challenges Did Not Resonate, Because Not Raised Below. In Ventura Harbor Restaurant Associates, Inc. v. Ventura Port Dist., Case No. B344145 (2d Dist., Div. 6 July 9, 2026) (certified for publication, after being filed on June 15, 2026 as an unpublished opinion), the appellate court affirmed a $137,400 contractual attorney’s fees award under…
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Family Law: Family Code Section 271 Monetary Sanctions Cannot Be Imposed On Litigant’s Attorney
Reversal As A Matter Of Law Was The Result. Ex-husband’s attorney in Forrest v. Forrest, Case No. D086281 (4th Dist., Div. 1 July 8, 2026) (unpublished) had a $5,000 monetary sanction imposed for certain conduct in a marital dissolution case, exclusively assessed under Family Code section 271. That sanction order was reversed as a matter…
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Discovery, Ethics, Sanctions: In Pro Per Litigant Not Automatically Disqualified As Far As Seeking $1,000 In Monetary Sanctions From Defense For Failing To Produce Document Responses Under CCP § 2023.050
Litigant Did Not Need To Show Expenses Were Actually Incurred, Plus The Appellate Court Reminds Us That Civility Applies To Both Self-Represented And Represented Litigants. In Damak v. Superior Court, Case No. G065583 (4th Dist., Div. 3 July 8, 2026) (published), a self-represented litigant (plaintiff) filed a motion to compel when the defense did not…