Prior Award of $160,000 in Fees and Transfer of Valuable Property to Wife Sufficed. When you are in family law court, make sure you consider all the equities before seeking needs-based fees or Family Code section 271 sanctions. In Marriage of Davis, Case No. B243382 (2d Dist., Div. 6 July 17, 2014) […]
Absence of Fee Entitlement Language is Dispositive. Justice Ikola, in a trespass/nuisance/ejectment case involving an encroachment into neighboring land, started out Seraji v. Demirjian, Case No. G048611 (4th Dist., Div. 3 July 17, 2014) (unpublished) this way: “It is often said that good fences make good neighbors. One might wonder whether there actually
Bank of America recently reported that 2014 second-quarter earnings were impacted adversely by $4 billion in litigation costs crimping earnings by 22 cents a share. Almost all of these expenses were related to existing mortgage issues that had been previously disclosed, according to B of A. BLAWG BONUS: "A billion here, a
Extraordinary Circumstances Justified Noncompliance With Deadlines, And Client/Attorney Agreement On How To Divide Statutory Fee Awards Did Not Violate Any Ethical Prohibitions. Blythe v. County of Riverside, Case No. E055186 (4th Dist., Div. 2 July 16, 2014) (unpublished) is a wild FEHA fee/costs award case encompassing deadline, standing, and retainer agreement divisions of
Appellate Court Found No Abuse of Discretion, Given Trial Court Reduced From Requested $39,104.58 Fees/Costs—However, 1.5 Multiplier Was Proper. In Meaux v. Springfield, Case No. A139840 (1st Dist., Div. 5 July 16, 2014) (unpublished), defense prevailing on a SLAPP motion requested $39,104.58 in fees/costs (inclusive of a 2.0 multiplier, but not for “fees
Get Beyond the Pleadings, 4/3 DCA Says. Lee v. Hanley, Case No. G048501 (4th Dist., Div. 3 July 15, 2014) (published), authored on behalf of a 3-0 panel by Justice Moore, basically found that the one-year statute of limitations in CCP § 340.6 did not necessarily apply to a situation where an attorney
Florence McAuliffe Was A Man. In a June 14, 2014 post, we provided a Historical Footnote about attorney Florence McAuliffe, the McAuliffe in Heller, Ehrman, White & McAuliffe. “In 1929,” we stated, “she negotiated the financing for the construction of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge.” It did seem worth noting that a
The Orange County Register’s “Celebrity Watch” reports that U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest ordered figure skater Oksana Baiul to pay at least $35,000 in legal fees to NBC Universal Media and NBC Sports Network for bringing a frivolous suit last year. The district judge indicated Ms. Baiul made “wild claims” for tens of
Case Brought A Split In Decision—Majority Found Labor Code Section 3856(c) Applied To Deny Recoupment To Worker For Fee/Expenses, While Dissent Found Section 3856(b) Applied So As To Allow Worker Some Fee/Litigation Expense Recovery. Roman Catholic Bishop of Monterey, CA v. Mansfield, Case No. H038222 (6th Dist. July 11, 2014) (unpublished) is an
Jury Verdict Was $50,000; District Court Awarded $579,400 in Fees Out of Requested $748,522.50. When you are challenging an attorney’s fees award as too high in a civil case, you are running up a steep hill in order to surmount the deferential abuse of discretion review standard. Avila v. LAPD, Case No. 12-55931
