Author name: Marc Alexander

Assignment/Fee Clause Interpretation/Section 1717:  Bankruptcy Trustee’s Assignment Of Sublease Rights Invoked Fee Clauses To Prevailing Party

Cases: Assignment, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Landlord Did Prevail, Entitled To Fee Recovery Based On Breadth Of Fees Clause.             Bush-Grant, LLC v. Hotel Astoria, Inc., Case No. A147456 (1st Dist., Div. 4 Aug. 29, 2017) (unpublished) demonstrates how a tort claim can still be compensable under a broad fees clause, even if Civil Code section 1717 is inapplicable because the […]

Intellectual Property:  Federal Circuit Affirms $1.6 Million Fee Award To Defense In Octane Fitness Case

Cases: Intellectual Property

Fee Award Sustained Following Oft-Quoted SCOTUS Decision.             Likely the final chapter has been closed on the fee battle in the case which produced the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Octane Fitness, LLC v. ICON Health & Fitness, Inc., 134 S.Ct. 1749, 1756, 1758 (2014), defining the flexibility given district judges to decide whether a

Class Action:  Seventh Circuit Reverses Fee Award In Subway Footlong Sandwich Class Action 

Cases: Class Actions

Appellate Court Found Class Benefits Worthless, Meaning Case Should Have Been Dismissed Early On–$520,000 In Fees Go POOF! Library of Congress.  Wm. C. Greene, photographer.  1946         In In re Subway Footlong Sandwich Marketing and Sales Practice Litig., MDL No. 13-02439 (7th Cir. Aug. 25, 2017), a lower court had approved a settlement over an objector’s

Interest/Postjudgment Enforcement:  Interest Accrues On First Entry of Judgment, Even When Costs (Fees Included) Are Included Later

Cases: Interest, Cases: Judgment Enforcement

Complicated Interpleader Dispute Still Results In Interest Accrual Result Described Above.             Wertheim, LLC v. Currency Corp., Case No. B270926 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Aug. 25, 2017) (unpublished) involved a complicated interpleader/postjudgment dispute between various parties, among which was an insurer of an appeal bond in favor of plaintiff Wertheim.  For purposes of this blog,

Cases Under Review:  SCOTUS Grants Certiorari In Prisoner Civil Rights Case To Determine Meaning Of “Not To Exceed 25 Percent” Language in Prison Litigation Reform Act Fee Provision

Cases: Cases Under Review

Highlights Split Of Opinion Between Circuit Courts On Interpretation Of The Phrase.             On August 25, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) granted certiorari in Murphy v. Smith, No. 16-1067 (U.S.), a prisoner’s civil rights case involving interpretation of language in the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA).              In Murphy, an Illinois prisoner won over

Special Fee Shifting Statute:  Ninth Circuit, In Fractured Opinion, Determines First Amendment Group Entitled To FOIA Attorney’s Fees

Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Majority Determines A Causative Or Catalyst Test Applies, While Another Concurring Circuit Judge Determines No Causal Nexus Required.             The Ninth Circuit’s opinion in First Amendment Coalition v. Dept. of Justice, No. 15-15117 (9th Cir. Aug. 25, 2017) (published) is an interesting opinion on what level of causation or nature of the catalyst theory allows

Deadlines, Fee Clause Interpretation, Reasonableness Of Fees:  $210,000 Contractual Fees Award Affirmed On Appeal In Contentious Foreclosure/Eviction Case  

Cases: Deadlines, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Technical Challenges Are Rejected At Appellate Level.             In Coastline RE Holdings Corp. v. Brillouet, Case No. B282382 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Aug. 24, 2017) (unpublished), owners/residential borrowers had their house foreclosed (after quitclaiming the property to various entities and filing bankruptcies which were dismissed) and then lost an eviction action by the buyer

Allocation/Fee Clause Interpretation:  One Prevailing Defendant Entitled To Some Fee Recovery Under Promissory Note Fees Clause

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

However, That Defendant’s Assertion Of A Contract As An Affirmative Defense Required Some Paring Back of Fees Under Recent Mountain Air Decisio             On August 1, 2017, we posted on Mountain Air Enterprises, LLC v. Sundowner Towers, LLC, 2017 WL 3222520 (Cal. Supreme Court 2017).  A panel of the 2/4 DCA delayed submission of a

Deadlines/Special Fee Shifting Statute:  Appellate Court Determines That Prevailing Plaintiffs In County Code Compliance Dispute Were Wrongfully Denied Fee Recovery Under Government Code Section 800

Cases: Deadlines, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Lower Court Also Erred In Ruling Fees Motion Was Untimely Filed.             In Fratus v. Contra Costa County Dept. of Conservation and Development, Case No. A147841 (1st Dist., Div. 1 Aug. 23, 2017) (unpublished), plaintiff residential owners successfully obtained an administrative mandate writ against County agency based on allegations of code noncompliance.  However, the trial

Homeowner Associations:  4/3 DCA Determines Civil Code Section 5235(c) Only Allows Costs Award To Prevailing HOA If Homeowner Action Is Frivolous

Cases: Homeowner Associations

Fee Recovery Not Allowed Under Section 5235(c), With DCA Also Providing Guidance On Definition Of “Frivolous” Under Same Provision.             The Fourth District, Division 3 faced a first impression statutory interpretation of Civil Code section 5235(c), which provides that “[a] prevailing association may recover any costs if the court finds the action to be frivolous,

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