Author name: Marc Alexander

Substantiation Of Fees Under Special Fee-Shifting Statute: Court Of Appeal Overturns Trial Court’s Reconsideration Of Fees Request Where No Supporting Evidence Presented In Initial Fee Request Papers

Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

Third District Finds Reconsideration Was Erroneous and Finds No Basis for CCP § 473 Relief.      Here is a case that segues well with what we have advocated in many prior posts: when you prepare fee requests, make sure your papers provide the lower court with a roadmap, and a roadmap supported by competent evidence […]

Special Fee Shifting Statute: L.A. Rent Stabilization Ordinance Still Allows Trial Judge To Award Fees Under Unlimited Jurisdictional Amount ($25,000) In Its Discretion

Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

$25,575 Fee Recovery for Case in Which $11,590 Recovered Is Affirmed on Appeal.      Do not think that everything is lost when you win a case in unlimited jurisdiction court but your recovery is still less than the jurisdictional limit. The trial court still has discretion to award attorney’s fees to the prevailing party in

Section 1717: Simply Worded Fees Clause Broad Enough To Invoke Reciprocity Principle of Civil Code Section 1717

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Section 1717

Second District, Division 1 Affirms and Remands to Award Fees on Appeal.      Levaton v. Levaton, Case No. B213730 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Sept. 24, 2010) (unpublished) involved a family real estate deal gone bust, with the trial court ultimately awarding one side rescission. An initial appeal affirmed most of the judgment, but remanded to

Bankruptcy: Short Memorandum Opinion Drives Home Important Point—Counsel Representing Individual Debtor In Possession Represents Bankruptcy Estate, Not The Individual

Cases: Bankruptcy Efforts

Distinction Should Be Remembered To Avoid Forfeiture Of Fee Compensation.      U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Alan Jaroslovsky of the Northern District of California, in a short memorandum decision in In re Dixon, Case No. 09-11851 (Doc. #144, filed Sept. 19, 2010), gives a poignant reminder to all debtor bankruptcy attorneys representing individuals in Chapter 11 proceedings:

SLAPP: Reversal Of SLAPP Grant Requires Reconsideration Of Fee Award

Cases: SLAPP

However, Time For Filing Fee Motion Does Not Run Until Entry of Judgment Concluding Entire Action.      The next one is a case involving an appeal from a SLAPP grant by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Terry A. Green, who co-contributor Mike has had the pleasure of appearing before in a wage/hour case.     

Costs And Civil Code Section 1717: Motion To Tax Costs Award Reversed Because Nothing Showed That Section 1717 Applied or That The Claimed Costs Were Unnecessary Or Unreasonable In Nature

Cases: Costs, Cases: Section 1717

  Second District, Division 4 Orders Denial of Motion to Tax Costs.      Civil Code section 1717 applies to fee award requests, not an award of routine costs. If a memorandum of costs itemizes routine costs authorized by statute (such as filing fees, process service fees, and exhibit copying expenses), the burden is on the

Employment: Winning Corporate Individual Owner Sued As Alter Ego Entitled To Fee Shifting Under Labor Code Section 218.5

Cases: Employment

  First District, Division 3 Applies Analogous Civil Code Section 1717 Principles.      Labor Code section 218.5 allows for recovery of attorney’s fees by the prevailing party in certain wage/hour/benefits disputes. However, what happens if a plaintiff sues a corporate owner as an alter ego and loses? Does the winning individual defendant get fees?     

Costs: Voluntary Dismissal By Plaintiff Meant Routine Costs Award Was In Order

Cases: Costs

  Second District, Division 3 Applies Clear Law in this Area.      In Greene v. Minuteman Parking Co., Case No. B218223 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Sept. 22, 2010) (unpublished), the trial court awarded defendant $520 in routine costs after an in pro per plaintiff voluntarily dismissed his action. Plaintiff appealed, but the reviewing court concluded

Probate and POOF!: $13.364 Million Fee Award Against Trustee Under Probate Code Section 17211(b) Evaporates

Cases: POOF!, Cases: Probate

  Second District, Division 3 Finds Trustee Had Reasonable Cause to Contest Beneficiary Claims.      In our category “Probate,” we previously have examined Probate Code section 17211(b), which allows attorney’s fees to be awarded to a beneficiary contesting a trustee’s account if the lower court determines that the trustee’s opposition was made without “reasonable cause”

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