Cases: Allocation

Allocation/Employment/Section 1717: Employer Defendants Win $167,104.87 In Fees For Prevailing On Contract Claims, While Employee Winning On Wage/Hour Claim Receives $15,140 In Fees

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Employment, Cases: Section 1717

  Trial Court Decision Affirmed on Appeal.       Plaintiff, a chief technology officer, sued his ex-employer and a couple of other employees, losing contract and conversion claims but winning about $20,000 on an unpaid wage/hour claim. Both sides then moved for attorney's fees. The trial court awarded the defendants $167,104.87 in fees on the contract […]

Prevailing Party/Section 1717/Substantiation Of Fees/Apportionment/Reasonableness Of Fees: People Of The State Of California Get $2.944 Million Fee Recovery In Tobacco Cases I Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

     Cigarette ad, Times Square.  Feb. 1943.  John Vachon, photographer.  LOC.      Although this case has quite a storied history, In re Tobacco Cases I, Case Nos. D061077/D061676 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Apr. 26, 2013) (unpublished) looks like it may be finally finished, thanks to this decision.      What happened is this, in brief. People,

Allocation/Appeal/Arbitration: $130,137.50 Fee Recovery For Appellate Work On Arbitration Matter Remanded Based On Fee Entitlement Bases

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Arbitration

       Marik v. University Village, LLC, Case No. B236248 et al. (2d Dist., Div. 3 Feb. 19, 2013) (unpublished) involved a situation where nine defendants were awarded collective $130,137.50 attorney’s fees after successfully defending a prior appeal where an arbitration award was affirmed (inclusive of arbitral fee recovery). Plaintiff appealed.      Plantiff did well

Allocation: Trial Judge Finding Separate Contracts Inextricably Intertwined Did Not Have To Allocate Fees Spent On Separate Contracts

Cases: Allocation

  Dissenting Justice Would Have Required Parsing Out of Fees on Separate Contracts.      In Universal Church v. United Broadway Real Estate Co., LLC, Case No. B233904 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Feb. 11, 2013) (unpublished), landlord appealed when tenant won a hotly contested fair market calculation dispute under a lease, with the trial court awarding

Allocation/Special Fee Shifting Statute: General Contractor Winning Stop Notice Claim Against Bank Entitled To Fees

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

  Trial Court Did Not Err in Apportioning Some Fee Recovery Out With Respect to Successful Mechanic’s Lien Claim.      HJH Construction, Inc. v. California Bank & Trust, Case No. E053033 (4th Dist., Div. 2 Feb. 7, 2013) (unpublished) involved a failed real estate development project in Palm Springs where general contractor received a $690,710-plus

Allocation/Prevailing Party: Defendant Prevailing In One Action Granted Fees, But Not Fees Incurred In Prior Declaratory Relief Action

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Prevailing Party

       Our local appellate court in Sampson v. The Richardson Group, Case No. G046234 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Jan. 30, 2013) (unpublished) (3-0; author: A.P.J. Rylaarsdam) affirmed a determination that a contractor on a county construction project prevailed against subcontractor when judgment was entered against subcontractor, even though that party obtained some partial success

Allocation/Homeowner Associations/Reasonableness Of Fees: $750,000 Fee And $33,141.67 Costs Awards Sustained On Appeal

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Homeowner Associations, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Entitlement, Apportionment, and Amount Challenges Rejected.      In Sinclair v. Katakis, Case No. F060497 (5th Dist. Jan. 23, 2013) (unpublished), $750,000 in attorney’s fees (out of a requested $1.2 million) and $33,141.67 in costs were awarded against defendants in a battle involving CC&Rs as well as notes and deeds of trust with contractual fee

Allocation/Landlord-Tenant/Section 1717: No Allocation Of Fees Required Between Contract And Tort Claims Where Claims Are Interrelated

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: Section 1717

  $1.3 Million Fee Award Affirmed; Cassim Did Not Require Allocation in Civil Code Section 1717 Context      Landlord and tenant got involved in a lease dispute resulting in a suit where both dueling contract and tort claims were pitted against each side, with tenant ultimately prevailing by winning $116,859 in lease damages and a

Year End 2012 California Intermediate Fee/Costs Decisions

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Liens for Attorney Fees, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Here are the remaining December 31, 2012 intermediate DCA decisions on fees/costs issues, Liens For Attorneys Fees: Timothy D. Reubon, Inc. v. One West Bank, Case No. B234958 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Dec. 31, 2012) (unpublished)      In this one, judgment creditor/former attorney obtained a judgment against judgment debtor/former client for past due services.

Allocation/Homeowner Association: Property Owners’ Attorney’s Fees Incurred In ADR Dispute Resolution Matters Were Properly Recoverable

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Homeowner Associations

  Trial Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion In Awarding All Requested Fees But 10 Hours On Unsuccessful Matters.      Homeowners association, in this one, must have felt the sting of statutory fee-shifting provisions which allowed the property owners to recover $112,665 in fees based on winning a dispute over the correct interpretation of CC&Rs.

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