Author name: Marc Alexander

Civil Rights, Multipliers, Reasonableness Of Fees: Ninth Circuit Confirms Significant Haircut To Serial ADA Plaintiff’s Attorney’s Fees And Costs Award

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Multipliers, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

No Abuse Of Discretion In District’s Reduction Of Fees And Costs Award To $9,851 From The Requested $34,899 Where Work Was Routine And Boilerplate, There Was A Lack Of Opposition, And Much Of The Motion Practice Was Unnecessary.             In Shayler v. 1310 PCH, LLC, Case No. 21-56130 (9th Cir. October 24, 2022) (published), serial […]

Prevailing Party, Special Fee Shifting Statutes: Trial Court’s Determination That There Was No Prevailing Party Under Civ. Code Section 8800 In Prompt Payment Action Affirmed, But Reversal For Same Determination Under Code Civ. Proc., Section 1032

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Determination Of Prevailing Party Under Section 8800 Is Left To The Trial Court’s Broad Discretion, But The Trial Court Abused Its Discretion In Determining There Was No Prevailing Party Under Section 1032 Where Plaintiff Was The Only Party With A Net Monetary Recovery.             Civil Code section 8800 is a prompt payment statute governing progress

Discovery, Sanctions: 2/5 DCA Concludes $2.5 Million In Monetary Sanctions Awarded For Egregious Discovery Abuse, Under Code Civ. Proc. §§ 2023.010 and 2023.030, Was Not Statutorily Authorized And Reverses

Cases: Discovery, Cases: Sanctions

Citing Legal Precedent, Dissenting Justice Would Have Affirmed – Seeing No Basis For “The Majority’s Unprecedented Statutory Analysis.”             Nine months after plaintiff dismissed with prejudice its case in City of Los Angeles v. PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC, Case No. B310118 (2d Dist., Div. 5 October 20, 2022) (published), PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PWC”) moved for monetary sanctions pursuant to

Private Attorney General: Proposition 65 Plaintiff Gets A Redo On Fee Request After Trial Court Reduces Fee Award Based On Its Erroneous Conclusion That Her Litigation Achieved Limited Success.

Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5)

Plaintiff Was Completely Successful On Her Proposition 65 Claims And Objectives, But Trial Court Improperly Valued Significance Of Plaintiff’s Success As Secondary To Litigating The Fee Award Because More Time Was Devoted To The Fee Award.             In Davia v. Be Wicked, Case No. A163076 (1st Dist., Div. 3 October 20, 2022) (unpublished), plaintiff and

Interpleader, Prevailing Party: 2/7 DCA Affirms Trial Court’s Denial Of Attorney Fees And Costs Sought Against Interpleading Plaintiff By Defendant Who Obtained Summary Judgment

Cases: Interpleader, Cases: Prevailing Party

Defendant In An Interpleader Action Cannot Be The Prevailing Party As To The Interpleader Because There Are No True Adverse Interests, And Claims Of Collusion Between Between Interpleader And Other Defendant Must Be Made During Initial Phase Of Proceeding.             In Grupo Deco California v. Downs, Case Nos. B305748/B308965 (2d Dist., Div. 7 October 17,

Prevailing Party, Special Fee Shifting Statutes: Denial Of Attorney’s Fees To Requester Who Received Information Under CPRA After Petitioning For Writ Of Mandate Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Requester’s Litigation Was Not The Catalyst For The Disclosure Of The Information Requester Sought Under The CPRA.             Under the California Public Records Act (CPRA), a trial court “shall award court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees to the requester should the requester prevail in litigation filed pursuant to this section.” (Gov. Code § 6259(d).)  However,

Family Law, Substantiation Of Reasonableness Of Fees: Attorney Fee Award To Husband Prevailing In Restraining Order Matter Reversed Due To Lack Of Information Necessary For Trial Court To Perform A Lodestar Calculation

Cases: Family Law, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

An Unsworn Statement Made By Husband’s Counsel, As To His Hourly Rate And Time Spent Working On The Case, Did Not Support The Trial Court’s Lodestar Calculation.             In Marriage of Halamandaris, Case No. E076933 (4th Dist., Div. 2 October 10, 2022) (unpublished), husband defeated wife’s attempt to obtain a restraining order under the Domestic

In The News . . . Bloomberg Law’s Most Recent Workload & Hours Survey Suggests That Practitioners 45 Years And Older Have More Non-Billable Hours Than Younger Lawyers

In The News

Reasons For This Are Not Clear.             Based on Bloomberg Law’s Workload and Hours survey, conducted from July 27, 2022 – August 19,2022, survey respondents in the 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55,64, and 65+ age groups reported on the number of yearly non-billable hours they worked.  Here are the totals, and no real reason emerged for

Costs, Employment: Costs Award, Mainly, Affirmed On Appeal In Case Where Plaintiff Employee Suffered A Summary Judgment Loss On Whistleblower, Retaliation, And Breach Of Contract Claims

Cases: Costs, Cases: Employment

Breach Of Contract Costs Were Distinct, So That They Were Warranted Versus Costs On FEHA-Related Claims Never Determined To Be Frivolous.             In Hussain v. Peralta Community College District, Case No. A164189 et al. (2d Dist., Div. 4 Oct. 5, 2022) (unpublished), plaintiff employee lost his retaliation, whistleblower, and contract claims against defendant through summary

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