$10,000 Award Not Supported By Substantial Evidence Or Shown To Be Reasonable. Family Code section 7605(a) provides that a court must ensure equal access to legal representation in a child custody/visitation dispute, including an award of fees and costs, based on “the income and needs assessments.” In Torres v. Cox, Case No. […]
However, District Judge’s Award Of Only 15% of Requested Fees Vacated/Remanded For Another Adjudication On the Issue. In an issue of first impression, the Ninth Circuit in Ryan v. Editions Limited West, Inc., Nos. 12-17810/13-15061 (9th Cir. May 19, 2015) (published), decided that the Copyright Act of 1976 does not expressly or implicitly
Class Actions Are Top Litigation Issue For U.S., Canada, and Australia Respondents, And Alternative Fee Arrangements Are Frequent. On May 14, 2015, Norton Rose Fulbright released its “2015 Litigation Trends Annual Survey,” the ll1th one overall and extensively polling more than 800 corporate counsel representing a wide array of companies across 26 countries
Splits Among Circuit Courts On Both Issues—Ninth Circuit Decision Accepted For Review. On May 18, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, No. 14-857, a Ninth Circuit decision formerly published at 768 F.3d 871 (9th Cir. 2014). Two issues involving the impact of FRCP 68 offers of complete
We thank our friends at National Association of Legal Fee Analysis (NALFA) for providing us a couple of recent posts of interest, which we summarize below. Big Firm $5 Million Bill In Pumping Rate Case Was A Surprise. Based on a recent Los Angeles Times story entitled “Water District Found Itself Drowning
Reason Was That Only Negotiated Medical Expenses Actually Paid By Her Insurer Should Have Been Considered At The Time Of The Offer. In Howell v. Hamilton Meats & Provisions, Inc., 52 Cal.4th 541, 548 (2011), the California Supreme Court decided that a negotiated rate differential included in a jury’s award in a personal
Fee Entitlement Was Present, But Reducing Request For Another Party No Abuse Of Discretion. Esparza v. PulteGroup, Inc. (Centex), Case No. D063736 (4th Dist., Div. 1 May 14, 2015) (unpublished) was a construction defect/personal injury action by several residential homeowners against Centex (which subsequently merged into the PulteGroup), which in turn cross-complained against
Nothing Showed Lawsuit Was Clearly Frivolous and No Billing Records Made Substantiation Possible. In Kent v. Lake Don Pedro Community Services Dist., Case Nos. F068354/F069197 (5th Dist. May 14, 2015) (unpublished), a third appellate round, plaintiffs challenging Brown Act violations by the District were hit with an adverse fee award of $175,000 under
Domestic Violence Restraining Order Fee Recovery At Issue. In our April 23, 2015 post, we discussed Faton v. Ahmedo, Case No. D066119 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Apr. 22, 2015), which was a domestic violence restraining order case raising procedural and Judicial Council form issues. It was unpublished at the time, but we can
She Had Previously Been Awarded $3.127 Million In Fees. This next case, authored by Justice Moore on behalf of a 3-0 panel, involves Nevada divorce proceedings relating to prenuptial, marital, and post-marital settlement agreements between Fletcher Jones, Jr. and his ex-wife Kimberly. After Fletcher had previously paid about $3.127 million of her divorce
