Second District, Division 4 So Holds in Family Law Judgment Enforcement Case. Although deciding that a debt owed under an expired note and unenforceable trust deed still survives for enforcement under Family Code section 291, the litigants in each side of this case actually got both good news and bad news. Plaintiff succeeded in […]
$3,800 Damage Award Garners $37,100 Fee Recovery. Under Civil Code section 1717 (a fee shifting statute tethered to a contractual fees clause), do fee awards have to be somewhat proportionate to the damages recovered by a prevailing party? The answer will come from reading our discussion of the next case. DC Painting, Inc.
Fee Denial Affirmed by Fourth District, Division 2. Cannan Construction v. Majewski, Case No. E048784 (4th Dist., Div. 2 Dec. 16, 2010) (unpublished) demonstrates that the trial court has substantial discretion in determining who is a “prevailing party” under fee shifting statutes. In this one, plaintiff won quantum meruit recovery from defendant, but
Fee Award for Dispute Involving EIR on Cold Spring Canyon Bridge. As reported on December 15, 2010 by the Indy Staff on the Santa Barbara Independent.com, Judge Thomas Anderle tentatively awarded Friends of the Bridge attorney’s fees of $125,000 in a dispute against Caltrans involving deficiencies in a final EIR relating to Cold
Inadequate Record and Evidence Supporting Decision Guided Affirmance. The Sixth District in Marriage of Naim and Price, Case No. H035497 (6th Dist. Dec. 16, 2010) (unpublished) affirmed a needs-based attorney’s fees order of $7,149 to ex-wife. Husband’s challenges were rejected on these grounds: (1) the family law judge did not have to make
The National Law Journal Article Elicits Views from Malpractice Experts. In a December 13, 2010 article by Amanda Bronstad on The National Law Journal website, some attorneys and at least one law professor opined on whether Frank McCourt has viable malpractice theories against Bingham McCutchen, his attorneys charged with drafting a 2004 marital
Plaintiff’s Case Was Hardly Frivolous. In the “Civil Rights” category, we have explored cases under the federal statutory scheme known as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which does have a fee shifting provision allowing an award of fees to a defendant where a plaintiff continues to litigate after the litigation clearly became frivolous,
Correction Was Clerical In Nature. What happens when a trial judge inadvertently muffs entry of an incorrect attorney’s fees order? Depends on the nature of what needs to be corrected, and whether the correction is a clerical or judicial correction. The next case illustrates the difference in the two concepts, allowing the clerical
Arbitrator’s Reading of Prior Mediator Decision Did Not Upset Award. If you believe that an arbitrator exceeded his powers or did something improper, make sure you raise it clearly–in writing–during arbitration proceedings. If you proceed, without making a record, the next case tells us you do so at your peril! BH Partnership
Substantial Fee Recovery in Sexual Harassment Case Sustained. In a gnarly sexual harassment case involving a former paralegal, a jury awarded plaintiff $68,000 in compensatory damages against a law firm, the husband of the law firm’s principal owner, and the principal’s son, as well as punitive damages of $75,000 against firm and husband
