Author name: Marc Alexander

Special Fee Shifting County Ordinance: County Fee Shifting Ordinance Is Constitutionally Valid

Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

First District, Division 3 Sustains Sonoma County Ordinance in Public Nuisance Action from Constitutional Attack.      Sonoma County was awarded $17,429.10 in attorney’s fees in a public nuisance action against unsuccessful defendants under Sonoma County Code section 1-7(b), which allows fees to a prevailing party in a public nuisance abatement action as long as fees […]

Client-Attorney Fee Arbitration: Failure To File Right Type Of Complaint And To Move To Vacate Arbitration Award Ended Client’s Hope For Reversal

Cases: Arbitration

Second District, Division 1 Enforces Procedural Aspects of Nonbinding Mandatory Fee Arbitration and Contractual Arbitration Enforcement Provisions.      In Sands & Associates v. Juknavorian, Case No. B218019 (2d Dist., Div. 1 July 30, 2010) (unpublished), client initiated a nonbinding arbitration against law firm under the Mandatory Fee Arbitration Act after being disgruntled with law firm’s

Prevailing Party Determination: Litigants And Courts Need To Focus On Each Claim and Each Claim Result To Determine Who Prevailed

Cases: Prevailing Party

Second District, Division 1 Affirms CCP § 1032 Fee Determination, But Reverses and Remands For Civil Code § 1717 Recovery Calculation.      As we have discussed under our category “Prevailing Party,” the determination of prevailing party focuses on the results reached on each distinctive claim by each distinct litigant, with different statutes governing the distinct

Undertaking: Court Of Appeal Holds That A Judgment Solely for Costs and Attorney’s Fees In HOA Dispute Is Automatically Stayed By Appeal, Without The Need For A Bond

Cases: Homeowner Associations, Cases: Standard of Review, Cases: Undertaking

Fourth District, Div. 1 Concludes That Not All Attorney’s Fee Awards Are Equal For Purposes Of Automatic Stay On Appeal.      In the next case, the Court of Appeal has gifted us with a 47 page opinion arising from the fact that homeowners in a condominium association installed two sandstone-colored windows, rather than two dark-brown

Poof! On Appeal, Employer Is No Longer the Prevailing Party, and Award of $23,532.50 in Fees and Costs is Vacated

Cases: Employment, Cases: POOF!

Second District, Division One Holds that a Tameny Claim Exists When Subsequent Employer Honors Putatively Invalid Restraint on Competition Entered Into Between Employee and Previous Employer – and Reversal of Attorney’s Fee Award Follows.      A Tameny claim is a claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy, under Tameny v. Atlantic Richfield Co.,

Insurance: In Which the Court of Appeal Rules Insurer “Must Lie In the Bed It Made”

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Costs, Cases: Indemnity, Cases: Insurance, Cases: Mediation, Cases: Section 998, Cases: Standard of Review

Fifth District agrees the Case is “screwed up.”      The story arc of this opinion begins at a low point, and plummets.  “What the heck?I?,” begins the Court of Appeal opinion.  “At one point, the trial court commented, ‘This is one of the most screwed up cases I’ve ever seen.’  We heartily agree.”  Essex Insurance

Special Fee Shifting Provisions: Third District Romps Around The Labor Code’s Bases For Recovery of Attorney’s Fees

Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Third Appellate District Remands So Trial Court Can Determine Reasonable Fees for Employer Who Successfully Defended Against Alleged Failure to Provide Rest Periods.      The next case is all about entitlement to attorney’s fees under the Labor Code.  Kirby v. Immoos Fire Protection, Inc., No. C062306 (3rd District July 27, 2010) (published).      On appeal,

California Supreme Court Holds That Public Entities May Compensate Private Counsel By Means of Contingent-Fee Agreements –- With Qualifications

Cases: Retainer Agreements

 The Court Sets Forth Specific Guidelines to Avoid Compromising Ethical Considerations.      On June 27, 2010, we posted about the fact that Louisiana and Wisconsin are two states that do not allow the attorney general to hire a private attorney for a contingency fee.  This limitation is proving to be especially significant in Louisiana, in the

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