Author name: Marc Alexander

Costs, Private Attorney General: 4/3 DCA Affirms $409,000 Fee Recovery And Additional Costs Recovery Even Though CEQA Petitioners Only Prevailed On One Out Of Close To Thirty Issues

Cases: Costs, Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5)

Clarification Of Success Facto Under CCP § 1021.5 Is Sorely Needed In This Area.             Our local 4/3 DCA in Protect Our Homes And Hills v. County of Orange (Yorba Linda Estates), Case No. G054631 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Oct. 25, 2018) (unpublished) was an appeal from a situation where CEQA petitioners “partially” prevailed in […]

Allocation: Contract/Tort Cross-Over Claims Did Justify $825,000 Fees/Costs Award Against Non-Prevailing Parties

Cases: Allocation

Hybrid Cases Can Be Expensive.             Keenan v. Souza, Case Nos. B276437 et al. (2d Dist., Div. 4 Oct. 24, 2018) (unpublished) was an LLC dispute with broad contractual fee recovery clauses. Needless to say, certain defendants/cross-complainants prevailed. The trial judge awarded over $825,000 in fees and costs to the prevailing parties, determining the contractual

Section 998: CCP § 473(b) Discretionary Vacate Motion Based On CCP § 998 Omission Of Material Term Denied On Appeal Based On Failure To Provide Reporter’s Transcript On Lower Court Determination

Cases: Section 998

Adequate Record Is A Necessity.             In Monoarfa v. Djie, Case No. B279593 (2d Dist., Div. 4 Oct. 24, 2018) (unpublished), the trial judge denied a CCP § 473(b) discretionary motion to vacate a ruling based on the CCP § 998 offer not containing a material term The result was affirmed because no reporter’s transcript

Mediation: Buyer’s Refusal To Engage In Mediation Under CAR Residential Real Estate Contract Did Not Support Adverse Attorney’s Fees Award Against Buyer—Buyer Did Not Refuse To Mediate!

Cases: Mediation

Appellate Court Did Note Differences In CAR Mediation Provisions Leading To A Different Result In Earlier Iterations Of CAR Contract.             In Dilonell v. Chandler, Case No. B282634 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Oct. 24, 2018) (unpublished), plaintiff/prospective buyer was dinged with an attorney’s fees award of $26,400—a reduced amount—after a lower court denied buyer’s petition

In The News . . . . Plaintiffs’ Class Counsel In Vietnam Veteran Experimentation Case Agree To Stipulated $3.4 Million Fee Recovery, Which Was Approved By The Court

In The News

This Amount Was Reduction From $20 Million In Fees Expended And A Slice From The EAJA Lodestar Of $4.515 Million.             Who says that class actions cannot have some happy endings in terms of the fee recoveries being reduced responsibly in public interest cases? The fee recovery result in Vietnam Veterans of America v. CIA,

Class Action, Costs, Lodestar, Reasonableness Of Fees, Section 998: Trial Judge Properly Awarded Class $333,000 In Attorney’s Fees Out Of Requested $780,845.62

Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Costs, Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Section 998

However, Lower Court Did Properly Award Voluntary Mediation Expenses And Expert Fees Incurred By The Class After Rejection Of A CCP § 998 Offer.             In Diaz v. Grill Concepts Service, Inc., Case No. B284146 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Oct. 19, 2018) (unpublished), former restaurant employees of a Daily Grill brought a class action for

Fees as Damages, Substantiation Of Reasonableness Of Fees: Using Client To Authenticate Attorney’s Fees Invoices Found To Be An Incompetent Showing, Requiring Reversal As A Matter Of Law

Cases: Fees as Damages, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

Case Is A Stark Reminder On How To Competently Introduce Attorney’s Invoices In A Trial Where Fees Are Claimed As Damages.             Justice Fybel, a sitting justice on our local Santa Ana court (this year’s winner of the David G. Sills Award for Appellate Excellence Presentation by the Orange County Bar Association Appellate Law Section),

Mediation: Trial Judge’s Conclusion Party Did Not Receive Letter Offering Mediation, Coupled With Other Circumstances, Means That Prevailing Party In R.E. Water Damage Dispute Satisfied Mediation Condition Precedent Because He Never Refused Mediation

Cases: Mediation

Factual Conclusion Below Was Dispositive.             In Cohen v. Lavi, Case No. B279597 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Oct. 18, 2018) (unpublished), the parties entered into a real estate sale/purchase agreement with a mediation condition precedent clause, namely, fee recovery was not allowable unless a party attempted to resolve the matter through mediation or if a

Private Attorney General: Trial Judge Finding That Obstruction Of Justice Misdemeanor Conviction Did Not Disqualify Commerce City Councilman And Properly Rejected His Subsequent Request For CCP § 1021.5 Fees

Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5)

Action Primarily Affected His Own Interests And Fees Incurred Were Not Out Of Proportion To His Paramount Personal Stake In The Situation.             In People ex rel. City of Commerce v. Argumedo, Case Nos. B280814/285003 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Oct. 17, 2018) (partially published; fee discussion not published), City of Commerce through a quo warranto

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