Author name: William M. (Mike) Hensley

Ethics: New York State Bar’s Ethics Committee Issues An Opinion Indicating That Attorneys Can Charge For Answering Billing Questions If Advance Notice Is Given To A Client

Cases: Ethics

Ethics Opinion 1299 Is What Was Issued; Time On Genuine Billing Disputes Should Not Be Billed. New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Ethics has issued Opinion 1299 on August 31, 2026.  It states that, with advance notice to the client, an attorney may bill a client for discussing continued billing questions, because it

Class Actions: Class Counsel Awarded About $146.8 Million In Attorney’s Fees In Privacy Action Where A Jury Awarded $425 Million To The Certified Class

Cases: Class Actions

Lodestar Was Almost 50,000 Hours At A Blended Hourly Rate Of $1,143, Enhanced By A 2.59 Positive Multiplier. Rodriguez v. Google, LLC, No. 20-cv-04688-RS (N.D. Cal.) was a class action brought on behalf of 98 million people alleging that Google unlawfully collected user data from non-Google apps even when users disabled the settings, based on

Costs, Deadlines, SLAPP: Where SLAPP Motions And Dismissals On Them Did Not Resolve The Case Against All Defendants, The Prevailing SLAPP Defendants Did Not Face The 15-Day Memorandum Of Costs Deadline Generally Applying When The Case Is Fully Resolved

Cases: Costs, Cases: Deadlines, Cases: SLAPP

The Costs Memo Filing 10 Days Past The 15-Day Deadline Was No Problem, Given That The 15-Day Deadline Did Not Start To Accrue. What caught our eye in Amirtalesh v. Beverly Hills Properties, LLC, Case Nos. B339300 et al. (2d Dist., Div. 2 Aug. 28, 2026) (unpublished) was the discussion on whether prevailing SLAPP defendants

Private Attorney General: City Of Los Angeles v. International Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers Opinion Is Now Published

Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5)

Vindication Of Negotiating Rights For Los Angeles Employees Was An Important Public Benefit On August 6, 2026, we posted on City of Los Angeles v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Case No. B336981 (2d Dist., Div. 7 filed July 30, 2026).  On the fee issue, it held that Coalition vindicated bargaining rights for L.A. employees, a significant

Celebrities, Special Fee Shifting Statutes:  Based On Dismissal Of A Defamation Counter-Claim, Blake Lively Obtains $407,451 In Attorney’s Fees And Costs In Contentious Litigation Against Co-Star Justin Baldoni Based On Civil Code Section 47.1(b)

Cases: Celebrities, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

However, She Had Sought Over $8 Million In Fees And Costs, With District Judge Only Awarding For Fees/Costs For Defamation Counter-Claim Work And Making Other Reductions. This post gives us a chance to discuss Civil Code section 47.1(b), which has a prevailing defendant fee/costs-shifting provision. Section 47.1 protects a defendant’s communications about sexual harassment by deeming

POOF!: Where A Trial Court Found A Fraudulent Transfer Of Title, But Erroneously Entered Judgment Against Plaintiff Based On A Statute Of Limitations Defense, Judgment Was Reversed And Entered In Plaintiff’s Favor On Appeal

Cases: POOF!

That Also Means The Prevailing Party Fee Award To The Defense Fell As A Matter Of Law. Salem v. Aljojo, Case No. B346381 (2d Dist., Div. 4 Aug. 27, 2026) (unpublished) involved a situation where a plaintiff sued defendant eldest son for cancellation of a quitclaim deed obtained by fraud.  Although the trial court found

Section 1717: Contractual Attorney’s Fees To Defendant Where Plaintiff Wanted To Dismiss Entire Action After An Adverse Demurrer Ruling On One Claim Was Reversed On Appeal

Cases: Section 1717

Lower Court Erred By Not Entering The Entire Dismissal, Which Triggered The Santisas Bar For An Award Of Civil Code Section 1717 Fees. In Shayan v. Shakib, Case No. B337559 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Aug. 27, 2026) (unpublished), plaintiff sued defendant under various loan transactions having promissory notes with prevailing party, contractual fee clauses.  After some

Appeal Sanctions: In Pro Per Appellants Will Have To Pay The Reasonable Appellate Fees Of Their Opponent Based On AI Hallucination Citations

Cases: Appeal Sanctions

Superior Court Judge Will Determine The Fees To Be Awarded. Pro per appellants are not immune from appellate sanctions for having used AI hallucinations citations in their AOB.  The penalty in Varma v. The Bank of New York Mellon, Case No. E085566 (4th Dist., Div. 2 Aug. 27, 2026) (unpublished) for in pro per appellants in this

Fee Clause Interpretation, Probate, Settlement: Attorney’s Fees Were Assessed Against Trustee Based On Handwritten Settlement Agreement With A Contractual Fees Clause

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Probate, Cases: Settlement

Both Sides Were Represented By Counsel In The Negotiating and Signing of The Agreement. The Fifth District in Kirkland v. Beeck, Case No. F090251 (5th Dist. Aug. 26, 2026; posted Aug. 27, 2026) (unpublished), was a case involving dueling probate petitions by a trustee/beneficiary and a cousin beneficiary under a trust, with cousin prevailing and being

Sanctions: First District Parts Company From The Second District On Whether A Safe Harbor Sanctions Motion Has To Have A Hearing Date

Cases: Sanctions

This May Go Up for California Supreme Court Review In Ari Law P.C. v. Autonation.com, Inc., Case No. A173620 (1st Dist., Div. 4 Aug. 26, 2026) (published), the First District parted company from two Second District decisions (Galleria, 179 Cal.App.4th 535 and J.N., 120 Cal.App.5th 544) in arriving at the conclusion that the CCP section 1010 notice requirements

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