Author name: Marc Alexander

Appealability:  Failures To Provide Tentative Decision And Reporter’s Transcript of Fee Hearing Were Fatal When Discretionary Issues Involved

Cases: Appealability

These Failures Precluded Showing Abuse Of Discretion In Failing To Apportion.             Park v. Joong-Ang Daily News Calif., Inc., Case No. B268678 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Nov. 21, 2017) (unpublished) is a situation where plaintiff won $119,088.29 on certain wage/hour violations and was later awarded statutory fees of $258,155 (inclusive of a “fees on fees” […]

Fee Clause Interpretation/Section 1717:  Significant Fee Awards Affirmed In Favor Of Lenders And Prevailing Party In Easement Dispute

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Section 1717

Courts Focused On Plain Meaning Of Fee Clauses, Primarily. Lawson v. Cal Western Reconveyance Corp., Case No. A142956 (1st Dist., Div. 4 Nov. 20, 2017) (Unpublished).             Here, after two banks prevailed in a nonjudicial foreclosure challenge by borrowers, the trial judge awarded both $ 137,150 in attorney’s fees under note and trust deed fee

Class Action:  N.D. Cal. District Judge Approves NCAA/Student-Athlete Scholarship Class Action, Awarding About $45 Million In Fees, Costs, And Expenses To Class Counsel

Cases: Class Actions

Total Settlement Value Was $209 Million.             On Friday, November 17, 2017, U.S. District  Judge Claudia Wilken of the Northern District of California gave final approval to the settlement reached in a class action involving the NCAA, 11 athletic conferences, and certain student-athletes over alleged anti-competitive caps on student scholarships.  Class counsel was awarded about

Civil Rights:  $575,231 Bane Act Compensatory Jury Verdict Resulted In Sustained Fees/Costs Award Of $2,027,612.75 By Trial Court

Cases: Civil Rights

Statutory Fee-Shifting Provisions Can Have Real Force In A Case For A Prevailing Party, Even If The Compensatory Damages Award Is Much Less Than Requested Fees.            Federal Theatre.  1936.  Library of Congress         The Bane Act, Civil Code section 52.1, is a broadly-worded California civil rights statute first enacted to combat

Bankruptcy:  NALFA Announces Billing Rates For Top Bankruptcy Attorneys During 2015-2017 In Major Legal Markets

Cases: Bankruptcy Efforts

Rates Reflect Specialty Nature Of Practice, We Would Conjecture.             We can report that the National Association of Legal Fee Analysis (NALFA) has conducted a survey of partner hourly rates in bankruptcy cases, the results of which were reported in a recent post on its News Blog.               NALFA examined dozens of court filings

Civil Rights, Lodestar, Multiplier, Reasonableness Of Fees:  Trial Judge Properly Cut Lodestar By 25%, And Applied A 1.5 Positive Multiplier, For Total Fee Award Of $752,925.92 In Case Garnering Compensatory Damages Of $625,000 To Plaintiff

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Multipliers, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

Trial Judge Also Properly Awarded $15,000 Supplemental Fees For Posttrial Work.             For those of you not practicing in the employment/FEHA area, civil rights plaintiffs in disability/harassment/failure to accommodate cases are entitled to recovery of attorney’s fees under a pro-plaintiff statutory fee-shifting provision to be construed liberally to allow plaintiff full compensation for prevailing in

Liens For Attorney’s Fees/Judgment Enforcement/Retainer Agreements:  Two Unpublished Decisions Discuss These Issues

Cases: Judgment Enforcement, Cases: Liens for Attorney Fees, Cases: Retainer Agreements

Attorney’s Liens/Retainer Agreements—Primo Hospitality Group, Inc. v. The Americana At Brand, LLC, Case No. B271188 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Nov. 17, 2017) (Unpublished).             In this case, which involved some interesting third-party creditor and offset issues of interest to judgment collection attorneys, the appellate court did agree that attorney’s liens do not have to comply

Costs:  Trial Judge Did Not Abuse His Discretion In Denying Routine Costs Award In Unlimited Case Where Prevailing Party Only Garnered Recovery Of $2,223.33 In Month-To-Month Rent Dispute

Cases: Costs

Chavez Case Discretion Is Not Limited To FEHA Matters.             In Papavasiliou v. Equilon Enterprises LLC, Case No. G053611 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Nov. 16, 2017) (unpublished), plaintiff in an unlimited civil case (alleging damages of $25,000 or more) did prevail on a month-to-month rental dispute to the tune of $2,223.33.  However, the trial judge

Probate:  Ex-Trustee’s Payment Of Fees To Her Attorney After Removal And Then Filing Belated Accounting Justified Trial Court Order Having Her Refund The Paid Fees

Cases: Probate

Probate Fee Awards Are Subject To Broad Equitable Discretion By Probate Court.             Cicerone v. Kennedy, Case No. B278452 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Nov. 13, 2017) (unpublished) illustrates that probate judges are granted a large amount of discretion in awarding attorney’s fees to a trustee for a trustee’s attorney work, with the important caveats they

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