Author name: Marc Alexander

Probate/Sanctions: $76,598.32 In Attorney’s Fees For Filing Of Frivolous Probate Petition Under CCP § 128.7 Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Probate, Cases: Sanctions

  Plethora Of Procedural Issues Considered In 2/1 DCA Unpublished Opinion.      Enlisted men going through obstacle course.  Daniel Field, Georgia.  July 1943.  Jack Delano, photographer.  Library of Congress.      In Kerkorian v. Mandekie, Case No. B252861 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Apr. 26, 2016) (unpublished), an attorney’s fees award of $76,598.32 (the full request) was […]

Deadlines/Section 1717: 4/1 DCA Follows Kaufman v. Diskeeper Corp., Agreeing Only Fee Motion Necessary For Purposes Of Recovering Attorney’s Fees

Cases: Deadlines, Cases: Section 1717

    Followed In Unpublished Opinion Issued On April 26, 2016.        On August 21, 2014, we first posted on Kaufman v. Diskeeper Corp., 229 Cal.App.4th 1, 8-9 (2014), which held that a costs memorandum did not have to be filed as a condition precedent for purposes of a litigant being able to seek

Fee Clause Interpretation/POOF!/Prevailing Party: Remand To Clarify Damages Awarded To Nonprevailing Plaintiff Real Estate Buyers Meant Substantial Fee Award To Prevailing Real Estate Seller Needed To Be Revisited On Remand

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: POOF!, Cases: Prevailing Party

  Award of Over $477,000 in Fees/Costs Went POOF!      In Fong v. Sheridan, Case Nos. A144286/A14522 (1st Dist., Div. 1 Apr. 21, 2016) (unpublished), buyers of seaside property sued seller and a dual broker agent for breach of contract, intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, and rescission after dual agent told buyers at a pre-sale stage

In The News . . . . More American Top Corporations With Large In-House Legal Departments Are Pursuing Alternative Fee Arrangements With Outside Counsel

In The News

  AFAs Accounted For 35.6% Of Outside Counsel Spending For Top U.S. Corporations in 2015.      Law360 reports that BTI Consulting Group has published a recent survey that shows out of $21.3 billion spent by chief legal officers inside top U.S. corporations, alternative fee arrangements to hourly rate arrangements accounted for 35.6% of total spending

Civil Rights: Plaintiff Employer Denied Fees Against Labor Commissioner Under Civil Rights Statute Because Plaintiff’s Due Process Rights Were Not Violated

Cases: Civil Rights

  No Showing Of Bad Faith In Labor Commissioner’s Position on Employment Issue.      In Happy Nails & Spa of Fashion Valley v. California Labor Commissioner, Case No. D067391 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Apr. 25, 2016) (unpublished), a plaintiff ultimately prevailing on an employee/independent contractor classification issue sought to recover attorney’s fees from the Labor

Fee Clause Interpretation/Section 1717: Seller Prevailing Under Purchase/Sale Agreement Fee Clause Entitled To $95,707 Fee Recovery Plus Some Routine Costs

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Section 1717

  Multiple Challenges By Losing Buyer Rejected By 2/6 DCA.      Real estate seller in Weinstock Porter Development, LLC v. Teixeira Farms, Inc., Case No. B253455 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Apr. 25, 2016) (unpublished) defeated buyer’s rescission claim based on environmental contamination where the record showed the parties entered into a release of claims because

Costs/Section 998: 998 Offer Was Invalid In Requiring Plaintiff To Sign An Unspecified Settlement Agreement, While Mediation Costs Were Improperly Taxed Where Court Believed They Had To Be Disallowed

Cases: Costs, Cases: Section 998

  Matter Remanded To Reconsider Routine Costs Awardable To Plaintiff.      Sanford v. Rasnick, Case No. A145704 (1st Dist., Div. 2 Apr. 25, 2016) (published) involved a situation where plaintiff motorcyclist sued defendants owner/driver of a car. Defendants made a joint, unapportioned pretrial CCP § 998 offer of $130,000, but plaintiff recovered less after various

Mediation/Section 1717: Defendants Improperly Denied Fees For Failing To Satisfy So-Called “Binding Mediation” Condition Precedent In Fee Clause

Cases: Mediation, Cases: Section 1717

  Also, Two Defendants Entitled To Fee Recovery Based On Alter Ego Allegations And Plaintiff’s Failure To Ever Dismiss/Abandon The Theory.      In Kern Health Systems v. Allied Mgt. Group Special Investigation Unit, Inc., Case No. B258326 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Apr. 25, 2016) (unpublished), plaintiff lost contractual and tort claims after a jury trial

Costs: Trial Judge Properly Awarded Expert Deposition, Court Reporter, And Service Rush Charges After Plaintiff Failed To Beat CCP § 998 Offer

Cases: Costs

  Plaintiff Did Not Shift Burden Of Correctness Accorded To Verified Costs Memorandum.      Plaintiff, in a lobby slip and fall, failed to beat a CCP § 998 offer from defendant owner/manager of the building lobby. The lower court awarded certain routine costs to the defense, prompting an appeal in Alexander v. Wealth Properties, Case

Family Law: $14,000 Fee Award Against Ex-Husband Reversed Because His Changed Financial Situation Justified Spousal Support Modification

Cases: Family Law

  Although Not Directly Raised, Appellate Court Entertained Out Of Equity Based On Husband’s Financial Change.      In In re Shepherd, Case No. H039876 (6th Dist. Apr. 21, 2016) (unpublished), ex-husband and ex-wife in a highly contentious dissolution proceeding had spent about $700,000 between the both of them along the way. This appeal involved ex-husband

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