Founding Shareholder Representing Law Firm Was Disqualified From Fee Recovery. Although Civil Code section 1717 is one of the better known fee-shifting statutes, there are restrictions to it. One such restriction pertains to attorneys who elect to represent themselves, with Trope v. Katz, 11 Cal.4th 274, 277 (1995) establishing that an attorney representing himself […]
If one side does not win a clear victory in a case (such as nominal damages), the lower court can certainly award fees to the other side where it beat major exposure on claims involving a fee-shifting clause. That is exactly what happened in the next case we explore. In Core Wealth Mgt.,
For all of you football fans (or our normal readers—rah!), we can report that the University of California, Berkeley recent settled a four-year legal battle with Panoramic Hill Association over mainly noise issues involving use of the Cal Bear’s Memorial Stadium. (If you have not been there, it is certainly one of a
Plaintiff Does Not Convince Appellate Court to Award More, With Fourth District, Division Commenting on Some “Cutting Edge” Substantive Questions. Although the next case could be viewed as just a simple abuse of discretion case, it actually discusses some interesting tensions between federal and state cases on the specificity of reasoning that must be
Fourth District, Division 1 Sustains Lower Court Determination Based on Its Experience With Hourly Rates. In Cauchon v. Forest River, Inc., Case Nos. D053864/D054433 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Apr. 9, 2010) (unpublished), mobilehome purchasers did well in a Song-Beverly Act Warranty Act suit with a mandatory fee-shifting statute in favor of prevailing plaintiffs. Purchasers
Case Teaches You to Be Careful on Your Stipulations in this Area, But Offers Guidance on How to Obtain Post-Verdict Brandt Fees. This next case is an interesting one, teaching that winning insureds’ attorneys seeking Brandt fees need to be very careful on what stipulations they make with the opposition. Courts, as the
Fourth District, Division 1 Publishes Opinion on Unique Issue and Decides Equitable Principles Cannot Justify Fee Recovery. Although one might chalk up this next one to an appellate court having fiscal savvy for the plights of cash-strapped governmental entities, we digest it so you make your own opinion on the result. McGuigan v.
$5.5 Million Fee Award Affirmed on Appeal. In our June 7, 2009 post, we talked about a judgment that E*Trade had obtained against Deutsche Bank AG for around $17.5 million in damages. At that time, a hefty request was anticipated to be filed by E*Trade in an effort to recoup its attorney’s fees for
Award Is Sustained, But Winning Subcontractor Under Contract With Fees Clause Fights Back Unlicensed General Contractor’s Illegality Argument. Usually, under our category “Unlicensed Contractors,” we are dealing with decisions where an unlicensed contractor wins a dispute with a fees clause and attempts to obtain an award of attorney’s fees—not very successfully. In the next
CC&R Count Justified Fees to County. We have told you before that HOA contests can be expensive. Yes, they can. Many times, very expensive for the losing HOA, which likely will have to pass losing fees through to homeowners via special assessments or other insolvency options. In County of Los Angeles v. La
