Author name: Marc Alexander

Costs, Prevailing Party, Private Attorney General, Section 998, Trespass: Prevailing Defendant/Cross-Complainant Obtains Attorney’s Fees Under Trespass Fee Shifting Statute Despite Receiving Nominal Damages And Also Receives Routine Costs

Cases: Costs, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5), Cases: Section 998, Cases: Trespass

Losing Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Denied Private Attorney General Fee Request In Opinion With Several Cross-Over Issues.              Direct Action Everywhere SF Bay Area etc. v. Diestel Turkey Ranch, Case No. A162702 (1st Dist., Div. 2 Mar. 1, 2023) (unpublished) is an opinion with many cross-over issues as identified in our main title to this post.             In […]

Arbitration: Arbitration Fee Clause Saying That Both Sides Bear Their Own Fees, Subject To Reallocation By Arbitrator, Did Aid Substantive Unconscionability Determinations By Trial And Appellate Courts

Cases: Arbitration

CLRA Claims Require Bad Faith Prosecution To Award Prevailing Party Fees To Defendants, With The Clause Not Covering This Eventuality.             Gostev v. Skillz Platform, Inc., Case No. A164407 (1st Dist., Div. 2 Feb. 28, 2023) (published) is a must read for litigants and their attorneys on the enforceability of delegation and other arbitration damage/statute

Employment: On Remand, Appellate Court Determines That Employer Did Not Bear Penalties Or Fee Exposure Under Labor Code Section 226 Because Failure To Pay For Meal/Rest Breaks And Failure To Report Same On Wage Statements Was Not Intentional

Cases: Employment

Employers May Be Happy With Many Aspects Of This Opinion.             We have posted already on Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., 13 Cal.5th 93, 102 (see our December 18, 2022 post on top 2022 decisions), which determined that meal/rest break premium charges and failure to report on wage statements could give rise to fee

POOF!: $737,932.84 Private Attorney General Fee Award Goes Away When Appellate Court Reverses As A Matter Of Law Favorable Determinations In Contentious Public Treatment Wastewater Permits Dispute

Cases: POOF!

Goes To Show You How Fortunes Can Change.             Los Angeles Waterkeeper v. State Water Resources Control Board, Case No. B309151 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Feb. 27, 2023) (published) is a situation where plaintiff was awarded CCP § 1021.5 fees of $737,932.84 in a contentious public treatment wastewater permit dispute where plaintiff won on a

Judgment Enforcement: Judgment Creditor Properly Awarded Attorney’s Fees For Pursuing A Wage Garnishment Order Against Ex-Husband For A Community Debt Judgment Against A Wife

Cases: Judgment Enforcement

No Conspiracy Between A Judgment Debtor And Relevant Third Party Is Required.             Code of Civil Procedure section 685.040 authorizes a trial court to award reasonable and necessary costs of enforcing a judgment to the judgment creditor, if (1) the fees were incurred to “enforce” a judgment, and (2) the underlying judgment included an award

Cases Under Review: Discovery Sanctions And Arbitration Unconscionability Cases Are Pending For Resolution By The California Supreme Court

Cases: Cases Under Review

These Are The Two Civil Cases With Fee Issues Currently Pending Before The State Supreme  Court; Plus We Update Our Year End 2022 Review Of K.M. v. Grossmont Union High School Dist. Decision. On October 27, 2022, Shanna did a nice post on a lengthy discovery sanctions case.  That matter was accepted for review and

Family Law: $13,000 Monthly Permanent Spousal Support Order And $175,000 Fees Order Under Needs-Based/Section 271 Grounds Reversed Where Lower Court Failed To Consider Totality Of Ex-Husband’s Ability To Pay Factors

Cases: Family Law

Reversal of Spousal Support Order Parlayed Into Reversal Of Fees Order.             In Kuo v. Liu, Case No. A164928 (1st Dist., Div. 2 Feb. 21, 2023) (unpublished), ex-husband was hit with a $13,000 monthly permanent spousal support payments and a $175,000 fees award to ex-wife under the needs-based Family Code provisions and Family Code section

Appealability, Discovery: Discovery Sanctions Against Client’s Attorney For Client’s Failure To Appear At A Deposition Reversed

Cases: Appealability, Cases: Discovery

Nothing In The Statute Shows That Sanctions Are Allowable Against Client’s Attorney.             Castillo v. McCreary, Case No. B317493 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Feb. 21, 2023) (unpublished) is an interesting unpublished decision on an appealability issue and on whether discovery sanctions can be visited on a client’s attorney for his client’s failure to appear for

Deadlines: Where Motion To Compel Arbitration, Based On Accompanying Declarations, Had A Fee Request, It Authorized The Lower Court To Grant Fees Where Other Side Did Not Object To Them In Their Opposition Or At The Hearing

Cases: Deadlines

Inadequate Record Sealed The Result, But The Lesson Is To Make An Objection To A Fee Request Even If Inartfully Raised.             The result in Barcenas v. 99 Cents Only Stores, LLC, Case No. B316898 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Feb. 17, 2023) (unpublished) is based on waiver, but it is a lesson to object to

Family Law: $97,500 Fee Award To Ex-Female Significant Other Under Family Code Section 6344 Is Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Family Law

Ex-Male Significant Other Had Ability To Pay, But Lower Court Did Not Award Full Fee Request Of $181,042.             Johns v. Cummings, Case No. B313964 (2d Dist., Div. 4 Feb. 17, 2023) (unpublished) involved the aftermath of a romantic relationship between Thomas Cummings, a recording artist, and Whitney Johns, a fitness model/personal trainer, who both

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