Author name: Marc Alexander

Fee Substantiation: Plaintiff’s Declaration About Hourly Rates And Small Law Firm Survey Deemed Sufficient Substantiation For Fee Request, Especially Given No Challenge By The Defense

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

Third District Also Addresses Clerical Time and Multiplier Issues.      Plaintiff won a jury verdict of $16,536 on a failure to accommodate discrimination claim. Under the fee-shifting provisions of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA; Government Code section 12965(b)), the trial court awarded plaintiff $189,503.40 in fees, after lodestar deductions for clerical tasks, duplicative […]

Off Topic: Co-Contributor Marc’s Chicks … They May Now Be “Pullets.”

Off Topics

     Because co-contributor Mike does not want to quit the blog over Marc’s new pets (two chicks), he thought it better to give you an update instead.      The chicks may now be at a more advanced stage such that they are more accurately characterized as “pullets.” Anyone other than farmers know what this means?

Probate: Trustee Winning Jury Trial On Trust Breach Claims But Losing Subsequent Equitable Trial Was Wrongly Denied Fees Because Jury Resolutions Were Binding

Cases: Probate

First District, Division 4 Clarifies Legal/Equitable Issue Interplay in a Mixed Action.      Trustee was sued for misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of trust in an action alleging that the trustee favored one beneficiary over the others in trust assets distributions. Certain legal issues were bifurcated for the jury, and certain equitable claims

FELA Preemption: Federal Law Preempts Cost-Shifting Of CCP 998 Offer In FELA Case

Cases: Costs, Cases: Preemption, Cases: Section 998

  Third District Finds Miller Rule Also Applies to Prevailing 998 Defendant.       In Miller v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., 147 Cal.App.4th 451 (2007), the Third District Court of Appeal decided that the availability of expert witness costs in a Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) action involving an injured railroad employee filed in state court

Civil Code Section 1717: Ninth Circuit Holds Tenants Winning On Preemption Issue Entitled To Fees Because Issue Arose “On The Contract”

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Preemption, Cases: Section 1717

  Federal Court of Appeals Sustains $180,029.50 Fee Award to Tenants.      In Barrientos v. 1801-182 Morton LLC, Case No. 07-56697 (9th Cir. Oct. 9, 2009) (certified for publication), tenants won summary judgment and permanent injunctive relief with respect to illegal notices of eviction served by a landlord arguing that Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance

Prevailing Party: Broadly-Worded Fees Clause Gave Rise To Fee Exposure Even Under Santisas

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Deadlines, Cases: Prevailing Party

Sixth District Also Resolves Joinder, Motion Timeliness, and Apportionment Issues.      The next case is a virtual “issue cross-over” study for such subjects as prevailing party after a dismissal without prejudice (Santisas issue); joinder; motion timeliness; and apportionment. Walewski v. Williams, Case No. H033026 (6th Dist. Oct. 8, 2009) (unpublished) is worth reading to see

Reasonableness Of Fees And Costs: Recent Decision Is A Landmine For Review Of Mathematical Basis of Fees and For Obtaining Reversal Of Fee Award

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Sixth District’s 71-Page Decision Explores a Plethora of Issues.      We hardly know where to begin on the next one, a scholarly 71-page slip opinion from the Sixth District in Gorman v. Tassajara Development Corp., Case No. H031196 (6th Dist. Oct. 6, 2009) (certified for publication). However, we will give the highlights, because it

Update to Contributors Page

Off Topics

Full Disclosure Compels Inclusion of Additional Pets.      Co-contributor Mike pointed out that our contributors page failed to disclose the recent addition of some pets to Marc’s household, and precipitously threatened to end his participation in this blawg unless the disclosures were updated for the benefit of our audience.  Therefore, the contributors page has been

SLAPP Two-Fer: Substantial Fee Awards Affirmed By Two Different Divisions Of The Second District

Cases: SLAPP

  Contentious Litigation Accounts for the Sizable Fee Awards.      Under our category “SLAPP,” we have examined numerous cases involving fee awards entered in favor of defendants winning SLAPP motions under the mandatory fee-shifting statute (Civ. Code, sec. 425.16(c); Pfeiffer Venice Properties v. Bernard, 101 Cal.App.4th 211, 215 (2002).) Next, we examine two cases where

In The News . . . . Estate of James Joyce Settles Copyright Action By Paying $240,000 In Attorney’s Fees to Professor Schloss And Her Counsel

In The News

     In a long-running dispute between the Estate of James Joyce (James Joyce being the celebrated author of Ulysses and Finnegans Wake) and Stanford University Consulting Professor Carol Shloss, the Estate finally agreed to pay Professor Schloss $240,000 in attorney’s fees she incurred in a successful copyright action against the estate.      The dispute arose

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