Author name: Marc Alexander

Family Law: 2/6 DCA Affirms Trial Court’s Conclusion That Monthly Payments To Father From Indian Tribe’s General Welfare Program Is Income That Can Be Considered In Calculating Child Support And Needs-Based Attorney Fees Obligations

Cases: Family Law

Indian Tribe’s General Welfare Program Payments To Father, Who Has An Annual Salary Exceeding $100,000 Per Year, Were Not Need Based.             In Pateras v. Armenta, Case No. B336065 (2d Dist., Div. 6 February 27, 2025) (published), the 2/6 DCA affirmed the lower court’s conclusion that the monthly payments father receives from Indian Tribe’s general […]

Fee Clause Interpretation, Reasonableness Of Fees: Fee Clause Stating Recovery For Third-Party Costs For Collection Encompassed Attorney’s Fees

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

Trial Court Properly Reduced $124,160 Fee Request To $64,750 To Prevailing Party Based On Partial Success, Under A Percentage Of Recovery And A Lodestar Analysis.                Pulse Technology Consulting Group, Inc. v. Skowron & Bunning, LLP, Case No. C098036 (3d Dist. Feb. 11, 2025 partially published; fee discussion published) involved dueling actions about an information

Appeal Sanctions, Arbitration, Sanctions: $37,000 In CCP § 128.7 Sanctions Affirmed On Appeal For Attorney’s Refusal To Withdraw A Frivolous Opposition To An Arbitration Motion To Confirm An Award

Cases: Appeal Sanctions, Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Sanctions

Also, Appeal Sanctions Were Warranted For A Frivolous Appeal, But Matter Remanded To Trial Judge To Determine Appropriate Amount Given Conclusory Support For The Fee Request.                In Plantation at Hayward I, LLC v. Plantation at Hayward I, LLC (Catanzarite), Case No. G062909 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Feb. 10, 2025) (published), plaintiff’s attorney losing in

Special Fee Shifting Statutes: A Prevailing Defendant Is Entitled To Attorney’s Fees For Defeating A Penal Code Section 502 Claim

Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

With An Important “If”: If Plaintiff’s Case Was Objectively Without Foundation When Brought Or Plaintiff Continued To Litigate After It Became So.                Hay v. Marinkovich, Case No. D082561 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Feb. 6, 2025) (published) held that a prevailing defendant in a Penal Code section 502 case (section 502 prohibits an unauthorized use

Deadlines: Prevailing Litigant In An Appeal Has 40 Days From Issuance Of Remittitur To File A Fee Motion Under CRC 8.278(c)(1)

Cases: Deadlines

Deadline Runs From Issuance, Not Extended For The Service Of The Remittitur.                In Wash v. Banda-Wash, Case No. F085028 (5th Dist. Feb. 3, 2025) (partially published), the Fifth District decided that a litigant prevailing on appeal has 40 days after issuance of the remittitur to file a fee motion under CRC 8.278(c)(1), a firm

Intellectual Property: Reversal Of Claim In A Cross-Appeal Meant That Copyright Attorney’s Fees Denial Had To Be Revisited

Cases: Intellectual Property

Same Result As Is Usually The Case In State Court Cases.                Much like what generally happens in state court cases, Aquarian Foundation, Inc. v. Lowndes, Case No. 22-35704 et al. (9th Cir. Feb. 3, 2025) (published) illustrates that federal circuit courts will remand an attorney’s fees denial order for a revisit after reversing a

Allocation: Where Trial Judge Asks For Allocation Based On Partial Success Of Different Claims, You Need To Do A Rigorous Apportionment

Cases: Allocation

Requests Totaling $427,102.50 For Partially Prevailing Defendants/Cross-Complainants Reduced To Awards Totaling $141,904.94 Based On Failure to Specifically Apportion.                Apportionment of attorney’s fees among claims generally is a discretionary call for the trial judge, even though allocation should be undertaken unless the attorney work was inextricably intertwined on the claims (which is an after-the-fact determination

SLAPP: Where Appellate Court Only Did A Modest Reversal Of SLAPP Grant, Lower Court’s Award Of Attorney’s Fees To Defendant Was Proper

Cases: SLAPP

Given The Enormous Successful By The Defense On The SLAPP Motion, No Need To Reverse The Fees Award On Appeal.                Many practitioners are familiar with the general principle that the reversal of a merits judgment many times will result in reversal of a fees award, because the degree of success needs to be figured

Section 998: Seven Months Into Litigation, Med Mal Plaintiff Rejecting Section 998 Offer Properly Saddled With Costs-Shifting, Including Expert Witness Fees

Cases: Section 998

Acceptance Line With Request For Dismissal Was No Defect, With The Offer Made In Good Faith Based On Informative Litigation Activities.                In Standage v. Bruno, Case No. A165207 (1st Dist., Div. 5 Jan. 29, 2025) (unpublished), med mal plaintiff lost a case after the jury returned a defense verdict after less than two hours

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