Author name: Marc Alexander

Employment:  Fee Recovery Properly Denied To Employer Under Labor Code Section 218.5 Where No Evidence That Suit Was Frivolously Maintained

Cases: Employment

Simply Bring Suit Does Not Give Rise To Section 218.5 Fee Recovery Against Unsuccessful Employee.             Juarez v. Ali, Case No. H041348 (6th Dist. Jan. 8, 2018) (unpublished) is a situation where a trial court rejected awarding wage/hour claims to a plaintiff, but then denying employer-affiliated defendants’ request for fees under Labor Code section 218.5.  […]

Prevailing Party/Section 1717:  There Can Be Dual “Prevailing Parties” In Contractual Dispute.

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 1717

Prevailing Alter Ego Defendant Entitled To Fee Recovery, Despite Fact That Plaintiff Prevailed Against LLP Defendant.             What happened in Burkhalter Kessler Clement & George LLP v. Hamilton, Case No. G054337 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Jan. 8, 2018) (published) is that plaintiff prevailed in a sublease dispute against an LLP defendant but did not prevail

Fee Clause Interpretation:  Narrow LP Agreement Fee Clause Did Not Allow For Tort Recovery Against Unsuccessful Investor Plaintiff

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

$657,000 Fee Award For Defense In Investment Dispute Went Away Based On Interpretation Of Fees Clause.              As we have posted many time under our category “Fee Clause Interpretation,” a fees clause in many an agreement may require an appellate court to reverse a significant fee recovery where the clause in narrow in scope.            

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:  Ninth Circuit Reverses, Vacates, And Remands Fee And Costs Awards In Favor Of Oracle On Copyright Infringement/Supplemental Claims Relating To Different Results On Appeal

Cases: Intellectual Property

Significant Non-Taxable Costs Under Copyright Statute Sustained Based On District Court Discretion Under 17 U.S.C. § 505.              The Ninth Circuit, in Oracle USA, Inc. v. Rimini Street, Inc., Nos. 16-16832/16-16905 (9th Cir. Jan. 8, 2018) (published) had to deal with a contentious intellectual property battle in which the district court entered significant merits, fees,

In The News . . . . City Of Newport Beach Billed Almost $18,000 To Resolve Dispute By Local Community Activist Over $619.33 Record Request Bill

In The News

Some Local Media Buzz Aroused By This Bill.             Our Mission Statement on this blog starts this way: “As one appellate jurist wisely observed, ‘All too often attorney fees become the tail that wags the dog in litigation.’  Deane Gardenhome Assn. v. Dentkas, 13 Cal.App.4th 1394, 1399 (1993).”  Although this observation occurred in an HOA –

Class Action:  Plaintiff’s Class Action Specialist Offers Tips On Presenting Fee Petitions In Class Actions

Cases: Class Actions

David J. Goldsmith Does So In An Article Published In The December 2017/January 2018 Practical Law—The Journal.             In the December 2017/January 2018 edition of Practical Law – The Journal (published by West), David J. Goldsmith, partner at Labaton Sucharow LLP and a plaintiff class action specialist, has written an article on class action settlement

Deeds Of Trust, Fee Clause Interpretation, Section 1717:  Attorney’s Fee Recovery Not Available To Lenders/Affiliates Based On Vague Provisions In Note And Deed Of Trust

Cases: Deeds of Trust, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Section 1717

Decision Should Have Lenders Look At Lending Paperwork To Make Sure There Is A True “Prevailing Party” Clause.             In Luca v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co., Case No. G053408 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Jan. 5, 2018) (unpublished), borrowers lost a lawsuit attempting to void the promissory note and deed of trust against lenders/affiliates based

Civil Rights:  Ibrahim No-Fly List Case Involving EAJA Fee Recovery Now Set For March 2018 En Banc Argument Before The Ninth Circuit

Cases: Civil Rights

Whole Panel Will Now Hear EAJA Fee Recovery Dispute.             In our September 8, 2016 post, we discussed Ibrahim v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 835 F.3d 1048 (9th Cir. 2016), where the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded the district court order settling the amounts of fees and costs under EAJA to be awarded to

Civil Rights:  Non-Party Employee Of Defendant Correctly Assessed Appellate Fees Relating To His Dismissal Of An Appeal On A Contempt Ruling

Cases: Civil Rights

However, Plaintiffs’ Answering Brief On The Merits Fee Request Was Properly Denied.             In Ortega v. USA/Maricopa County/Sheridan, No. 16-16663 (9th Cir. Jan. 4, 2018) (published), Plaintiffs obtained an injunction against Maricopa County in a civil rights case.  Mr. Sheridan, a now-retired employee of Maricopa County, appealed from a district court’s finding that he committed

Lien For Attorney Fees:  Attorney Properly Following Attorney Lien And Security Foreclosure Procedures Was Entitled To Obtain Property Which Was Security For Fees

Cases: Liens for Attorney Fees

Attorney “Went By The Book” In Our Read Of Things In Obtaining Ultimate Victory.             In Garcia-Bolio v. Hibernian Properties, LLC, Case No. F073973 (5th Dist. Jan. 5, 2018) (unpublished), an attorney took a lien in a contingency agreement and then in the litigation received a lien against the residence of the client (a residence

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