Author name: William M. (Mike) Hensley

Arbitration, Section 1717: Prevailing Party Winning A Petition To Appoint An Arbitrator In A Discrete Action Under The Parties’ Contract Was Entitled To Recover $68,800 In Fees For Getting An Arbitrator Appointed

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Section 1717

Prematurity Arguments Were Rebuffed. In Barbanell v. Lodge, Case No. D084193 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Dec. 17, 2025) (unpublished), the parties entered into a settlement agreement to resolve a longstanding water rights dispute, with the settlement agreement having an attorney’s fees clause allowing a prevailing party in a lawsuit arising out of the settlement to […]

Arbitration: 2/5 DCA Remands Employer Untimely Payment Dispute To The Trial Court To See If Employer’s Excuse Fell Within Hohenshelt

Cases: Arbitration

Concurring Justice Suggests That Discovery Might Be Appropriate For Scrutiny Of Employer’s Failure To Timely Pay. Howard v. Koulax Enterprises, Case No. B335329 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Dec. 16, 2025) (unpublished) is yet another appellate decision remanding a case to the lower court after an employer litigant failed to timely pay arbitration expenses, with the

Arbitration: 4/3 DCA Joins An Emerging Appellate Majority In Remanding Arbitration Nonpayment Decisions After Hohenshelt Decided

Cases: Arbitration

Remand Was To Determine If Employer Had An Excuse For Untimely Payment And Whether Employee Suffered Compensable Harm. Our local Santa Ana appellate court, in Pontes v. Intelliloan, Inc., Case No.. G064585 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Dec. 16, 2025) (unpublished), has joined an emerging majority of appellate courts in remanding, post-Hohenshelt v. Superior, 18 Cal.5th

Homeowner Associations: Prevailing Party HOA Properly Granted Attorney’s Fees In A Renewed Motion Where The Initial Motion Was Denied Without Prejudice

Cases: Homeowner Associations

CCP § 1008 Reconsideration Principles Did Not Govern; $95,182.75 Was The Fees/Costs Award. In Westwood Village Condominium Assn. v. Allen, Case No. A169848 (1st Dist., Div. 5 Dec. 15, 2025) (unpublished), HOA sued homeowners over alleged CC&R noise, parking, and littering violations, with HOA determining at some point that defendants cured the violations.  Based on

Appeal Sanctions: 4/1 DCA Levies Sanctions For A Frivolous Appeal Of Three Orders, Based Partially On A1 Hallucinations Being Referenced

Cases: Appeal Sanctions

$59,236 Payable To Respondent; $15,000 Payable To Appellate Clerk In Howell Management Services, LLC v. Rota, Case No. D086055 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Dec. 15, 2025) (unpublished), the 4/1 DCA recently found appellant filed a frivolous appeal involving three orders, with AI hallucinations also found in the appellant’s appellate briefing (an unreasonable CRC violation).  The

Costs, Landlord/Tenant:  Where No Settlement Agreement Was Of Record, And Testimony Was Conflicting On That Issue With Only Conjectural Evidence Offered By Landlords, Lower Court Erred In Denying Routine To Costs To Tenants After Landlords Dismissed The Unlawful Detainer Case Without Prejudice

Cases: Costs, Cases: Landlord/Tenant

Absence Of A Settlement Agreement Was Critical, Not To Mention Facts Indicating That Tenants Forced The Dismissal Because Landlords Knew They Might Lose. In Treybig v. Meza, Case No. 2024-01416924 (Orange County Superior Court, App. Div. Nov. 20, 2025, posted Dec. 12, 2025) (published), tenants contested an unlawful detainer by arguing that landlords unreasonably refused

Employment, Ethics:  $576,000 Attorney’s Fees Award Against Cross-Defendant On FEHA Claim Allowed As An Amendment On The Eve Of Trial Was Affirmed Where The Cross-Complainant Recovered $1.4 Million In Damages

Cases: Employment, Cases: Ethics

Cross-Complainant Sought $1.25 Million In Fees; Fees Were Appropriate Despite The Delay In Adding The FEHA Cross-Claim. This case is interesting to show how procedural rulings to add a claim at trial—such as a FEHA cross-claim—can make or break the affirmance of a subsequent fee award to the prevailing FEHA cross-complainant. Pak v. Rassman, Case

Employment, Prevailing Party:  Employee Winning $11,594.80 In Labor Code Violations Had $163,440 Fee Award Reversed And Remanded

Cases: Employment, Cases: Prevailing Party

Reason Was That The Lower Court Applied The CCP § 1032 Prevailing Party Rigid Test, Rather Than A More Pragmatic Approach Which Governed Statutory Violations. In German v. La Floure, LLC, Case No. D086600 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Dec. 10, 2025) (unpublished), plaintiff won wage/hour violations against defendants to the tune of $11,594.80 in damages,

Arbitration: Trial Court, On An Arbitration Award Confirmation Petition, Erroneously Included Arbitration Costs Where Arbitrator Did Not Award Them Before Issuance Of The Arbitration Award

Cases: Arbitration

Arbitrator Was The One Who Had To Do So, With The Presumption Being Costs Were Disallowed. Garrett & Tully, P.C. v. Aliso Properties, LLC, Case No. B332463 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Dec. 9, 2025) (unpublished) was a situation where a lower court, in an arbitration award confirmation proceeding, awarded costs relating to the arbitration where

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