Second District, Division 7 Has Nice Survey of Family Code Sections 2030 and 271 Fee Awards in Unpublished Opinion. Family law proceedings, including fee and sanctions hearings, invoke the full range of emotions. The awards, too, can be substantial, depending on the wealth of the parties involved. The next case sustained substantial fee awards […]
District Judge Selna Does Not Find Chad Farnan’s Lawsuit to be Baseless or Vexatious in Nature. On November 11, 2009, we reported that U.S. District Judge James Selna had issued a tentative ruling to deny an award of attorney’s fees to the defense teams for San Juan Capistrano high school teacher James Corbett in
Recent Case Illustrates Operation of this Mutuality Principle. In Silva v. Tong, Case No. A124903 (1st Dist., Div. 4 Dec. 11, 2009) (unpublished), plaintiff sought to enforce a purchase offer with an attorney’s fees clause as an enforceable contract even though it was never signed by defendants. Defendants were granted summary judgment, and then
Sixth District Likes Trial Court’s Rulings Across the Board on Fee Issues. In Exatron, Inc. DiFrancesco, Case No. H033094 (6th Dist. Dec. 9, 2009) (unpublished), plaintiff’s prior attorney’s fees and costs award from a contractual arbitration against defendant were affirmed in a prior appellate decision. Nine months later, plaintiff filed for supplemental fees
Third District Rebuffs Generalized Challenges to Fee Award, Finding Many Arguments Waived Based on a Lack of Specificity. Defendant in Allen v. Fulton, Case No. C059088 (3d Dist. Dec. 9, 2009) (unpublished) got hammered with a $217,422 fees/costs award ($212,473 of which consisted of fees) after summary judgment motions and a bench trial,
Fourth District, Division 1 Finds Award Disproportionate At First Glance, But Affirms Based Upon Total Review of the Litigation Below. Homeowner-homeowner association battles can be very, very contentious and expensive for the losing side—as the next homeowner learned, in a dispute over the floor covering in his condominium unit. McGuire v. 235
No. 1: Ellen Peck Reviews “Fees, Fee Agreements & Arbitrations” in December 2009 Edition of CALIFORNIA BAR JOURNAL. Ellen R. Peck, an Escondido sole practitioner and former State Bar Court judge, made these points in her recent California Bar Journal article: Except in limited circumstances, most private attorneys have to notify clients they
Second District, Division 5 Affirms Routine Costs Awarded to Defendant. Code of Civil Procedure section 998 offers are tricky. They require careful evaluation when received. In the next case, plaintiff—not by much—failed to prevail against a 998 offer and was hit with an adverse costs award. Loser raised a lot of arguments on appeal,
Third District’s Affirmance of Prompt Payment Statute Result Ices Correctness of Fee Award. In one of our past posts (see January 16, 2009 discussion of the unpublished decision of Li v. Wu), we briefly discussed one of the construction prompt payment statutes. The Legislature has enacted several “prompt payment” statutes designed to make sure
Prior Adjudication Precluded the Subsequent Award. In South Bay Rod and Gun Club v. Dashiell, Case No. D053658 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Dec. 4, 2009) (unpublished), director/real estate broker won a lawsuit against non-profit Club over a real estate option transaction. Winning director then sought fees in connection with his slander of title claim
