City Was Not Aggrieved So As To Have Appellate Standing. In Walker v. City of San Clemente, Case No. G050987 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Aug. 28, 2015) (unpublished), plaintiffs successfully obtained a refund from San Clemente of about $10.5 million in unexpended development fees to property owners on which the City had imposed unwarranted […]
Case Dealt With Fee Recovery Under Labor Code Section 98.2. On July 30, 2015, we posted on Royal Practice Funding Corp. v. Arneson, Case No. G050158 (4th Dist., Div. 3 July 28, 2015), which decided that an ex-employer’s withdrawal of a superior court petition respecting an ex-employee’s Labor Commissioner wage claim award did
. . . However, Imposition Of Sanctions On Individual Attorneys Is Just Fine. Siding with the Seventh and Sixth Circuits, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Kaass Law v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 13-56099 (9th Cir. Aug. 27, 2015) (published) reversed $8,480 in attorney’s fees sanctions imposed against a law firm.
Seventh Circuit Disagrees With Contrary Conclusion By Ninth Circuit In In re HP Inkjet. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has authored an important opinion in the class action fee area. In In re Southwest Airlines Voucher Litig., Nos. 13-3264 et al. (7th Cir. Aug. 20, 2015), the Seventh Circuit construed several
Non-testifying Physician Deposition Costs, Videotaped Deposition Costs, And “Real-Time” Deposition Transcript Costs Properly Awarded By Lower Court Below. Leduc v. West Anaheim Medical Center, Case No. G049895 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Aug. 24, 2015) (unpublished) has a good discussion of routine trial costs awardable in the discretion of the trial judge. It discusses
Neither A Significant Public Right Vindicated Nor Significant Benefit Conferred. Not every vindication of a statutory right is worthy of private attorney general fees under CCP section 1021.5. Contra Costa County Deputy District Attorneys’ Assn. v. County of Contra Costa, Human Resources Dept., Case No. A140669 (1st Dist., Div. 3 Aug. 21, 2015) (unpublished)
Although Suffering $8,210 “Net” Adverse Jury Verdict, Section 998 Expert Witness Fees/Other Costs Actually Resulted In Positive Award To Defense. Talk about a Code of Civil Procedure section 998 offer being a “game changer,” it was that in the next case and with football season looming, should be heeded by all litigators no
Southwest Airlines Garners Fees, Including Fees Expended in USPTO Reexamination Proceedings. U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo (S.D Cal.), on August 19, 2015, awarded Southwest Airlines $387,182 in attorney’s fees and costs after USPTO deemed the patent invalid, finding the patent infringement case to be exceptional under 28 U.S.C. § 285 and Octane
Also Error To Not Order Contribution By Co-Judgment Debtors To Fee/Costs Component Of Judgment. In LSREF2 APEX3, LLC v. Nomicos, Case No. G050175 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Aug. 19, 2015) (unpublished), one judgment debtor (who was jointly/severally liable and owned 10% of the property involved in the dispute) paid off a Colorado judgment
$755,925.86 Is Total Fee/Costs Award Against Large Audience Display. As we have discussed in many posts, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Octane Fitness, LLC v. ICON Health & Fitness, Inc., 134 S.Ct. 1749 (2014) has been a real game changer as far as increasing the case-by-case discretion conferred on district judges to
