Appellate Court Also Correctly Rejected Defense Request for $55,000 in Expert Witness Fees. For all of you who have ever had trouble figuring out how 998 offers work in a fee-shifting context, the next unpublished decision is a good primer on how these offers are applied in real time. In Linear Electric, Inc. […]
Co-contributor Mike Has A Matthew Bender Post on New Statutes Relating to Same. The California Attorney General and California State Bar are cracking down on attorneys who collect advance fees for residential loan modification services. The California Bar Journal is replete with several articles and announcements in the last few editions indicating that the
Plaintiff Winning Exempt Employee Misclassification Dispute Entitled to Full Fee Recovery Without Need for Apportionment. Winning a civil suit for wage/hour violations usually allows the prevailing plaintiff to recover mandatory attorney’s fees. However, what if there are related claims that do not carry a basis for fee recovery? What is a court to do?
Second District, Division 3 Applies Non-Insurance Equitable Contribution Rule in Insurance Setting. In Scottsdale Ins. Co. v. Century Surety Co., Case No. B204521 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Mar. 10, 2010) (certified for partial publication), Acting Presiding Justice Croskey—on behalf of a 3-0 panel of the Second District, Division 3—penned a scholarly opinion about the
Second District, Division 5 Applies “Inconsistent Position” Doctrine in Challenge to Allocation of Referee Fees. What follows is an interesting application of the judicial estoppel doctrine in the referee fee allocation area. This doctrine is a good one to have in any litigator’s arsenal, especially in this age of modern litigation where litigants and
Both Sides Appealed the Fee Award, But The Trial Court’s Award Stood Firm. The Ralph Act (Civil Code, § 51.7) provides that all persons within California’s jurisdiction have the right to be free from violence or intimidation because of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, marital status or sexual orientation
Court of Appeal Also Rejects Asymmetrical Interpretation of Fee-Shifting Provision. The next case, Alarcon v. Fireside Bank, Case Nos. A117148 & A118566 (1st Dist., Div. 3 Mar. 8, 2010) (unpublished), pitted two different statutes against each other, both contained in the Rees-Levering Automobile and Sales Finance Act (ASFA), Civil Code section 2981 et
$19 Million in Fee Spent in McCourt’s Divorce. Frank McCourt has estimated his divorce-related expenses at $5-$10 million, while Jamie McCourt has estimated her expenses as $9 million (with Jamie asking Frank to pay them), all in the on-going and apparently acrimonious divorce proceeding between Los Angeles Dodger owner Frank and former officer Jamie.
$88,671 Fee Award Entered Against Both Property Owners and Occupants. Losing HOA disputes can be costly for homeowners, because Civil Code section 1354 has a mandatory fee-shifting directive in favor of a prevailing party successfully enforcing CC&Rs. It can also extend to non-owner occupants, as the litigants in the next case learned.
Finds Attorney’s Lien Dispute Can Be Resolved in Minor Compromise Case and Analyzes Permissive Withdrawal Circumstances That Will or Will Not Give Rise to Quantum Meruit Recovery. Here is an unpublished decision that faced some gnarly issues regarding jurisdictional and quantum meruit recovery issues in an attorney’s lien situation where an attorney obtained a
