Author name: Marc Alexander

Landlord/Tenant; Lodestar; Special Fee Shifting Statute:  Two Fee Orders Reversed On Appeal

Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: Lodestar

Trial Judge Failed To Honor Voluntary Dismissal By Plaintiffs In Awarding Fees To Defense, While Lower Court Failed To Utilize Lodestar Methodology In Awarding Reduced Fees To Plaintiffs Under Settlement Agreement.             Duncan v. Nathan, Case No. A147468 (1st Dist., Div. 5 Feb. 5, 2018) (unpublished) involved a landlord-tenant dispute involving claims for negligence, quiet […]

Homeowner Associations/Prevailing Party:  Mixed Results In Transfer Fee Litigation Means No One Obtained Fees Or Costs

Cases: Homeowner Associations, Cases: Prevailing Party

Gotta Look At The Big Picture, Appellate Court Reminds Us On Prevailing Party Status.             Marina Pacifica Homeowners Assn. v. Southern California Financial Corp., Case No. B276719 (2d Dist., Div. 8 Feb. 5, 2018) (published) was hard fought litigation over the validity and timing of an assignment/transfer fee.  In the end, the trial court—after bifurcating

Costs:  Attorney’s Fees Not Recoverable Under Federal Rule Of Appellate Procedure 39 Even When Underlying Federal Fee-Shifting Statute Defines Costs As Including Fees

Cases: Costs

Second Circuit Court Of Appeals Decides Issue In Civil Rights Context.             In Hines v. City of Albany, 862 F.3d 215 (2d Cir. 2017), the Second Circuit decided that appellate attorney’s fees for a successful civil rights plaintiff were not recoverable under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 39 as costs, even where an underlying fee-shifting

Section 998:  2/3 DCA Affirms CCP § 998 Costs Award Based On Joint, Unallocated Offer To Multiple Defendants Based Upon “Unique Circumstances” Of The Case

Cases: Section 998

Appellate Court Wanted To Encourage Global Settlement Offers From Plaintiffs To End Litigation Against Multiple Defendants.             In Gonzalez v. Lew, Case No. B271312 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Feb. 1, 2018) (published), both sets of plaintiffs’ heirs sued the owner of a rented home when a fire engulfed the rented home in which two people

Allocation/Reasonableness Of Fees:  Guarantors Obtaining Assignment Of Lender Rights Correctly Hit With About $400,000 In Attorney’s Fees Under Operative Fee Clause  

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Apportionment And Excessive Fee Challenges Did Not Prevail On Appeal.             In Thompson v. T.D. Service Co., Case No. A148281 (1st Dist., Div. 5 Jan. 31, 2018) (unpublished), a trustee under a deed of trust made a mistaken full credit bid at an initial nonjudicial foreclosure sale even though the mistake was corrected in

Allocation/Deed Of Trust/Section 1717:  Lender Appropriately Awarded $60,000 In Borrower Dispute Under Section 1717

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Deeds of Trust, Cases: Section 1717

Trial Judge Allocated Compensable Fees Lower From The $128,187.50 Attorney’s Fee Request.             In Rufini v. CitiMortgage, Inc., Case Nos. A148049/A149410 (1st Dist., Div. 3 Jan. 30, 2018) (unpublished), borrower lost a loan dispute against lender.  Lender then sought $128,187.0 in attorney’s fees under a deed of trust fees clause, with the trial judge eventually

Prevailing Party:  Elder Abuse Guardian Ad Litem Was Not “Party” Subject To Welfare And Institutions Code Fee-Shifting Statute

Cases: Prevailing Party

Guardian Ad Litem Is Not Technically A Party To An Action.             In Albrecht v. Pearson, Case No. B281720 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Jan. 30, 2018) (unpublished), a person appointed as an elder’s guardian ad litem lost a restraining order and was ordered to pay attorney’s fees and costs under Welfare and Institutions Code section

Requests For Admissions:  Costs-Of-Proof Sanctions Denied Where There Was A Partial Denial And No Motion To Compel Further Responses Was Brought

Cases: Requests for Admission

CCP § 2033.420(b)(1) Exception Prevented Sanctions Being Assessed.             This next decision, Magco Drilling, Inc. v. Natoma Family Housing, L.P., Case No. A151586 (1st Dist., Div. 1 Jan. 29, 2018) (unpublished), is a case reining in costs-of-proof sanctions under CCP § 2033.420 in a situation where there was a partial denial and the plaintiff tailored

Allocation, Equity, Special Fee Shifting Statute:  Prevailing School District Properly Awarded $113,216 In Attorney’s Fees Under Public Contract Code Section 7107

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Equity, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Public Prompt Payment Statute Allows For Recovery Of Fees By Prevailing Party.             Public Contract Code section 7107 allows the prevailing party to recover attorney’s fees and costs in a suit alleging that a public entity or contractor wrongfully withheld retention payments required to be distributed in a timely manner.  This fee statute is bilateral

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