The Notice Of Appeal Only Attached The Merits Judgment, Which No Mention Of Fees. Myers v. Quality Care Home, Inc., Case No. C101659 (3d Dist. Aug. 20, 2025) (unpublished) involved a situation we have seen many times. Defendant was hit with a $78,000 wage/hour fee award after a more minor unpaid wage judgment was […]
The First Fee Award Appeal Divested Appellate Court Of Jurisdiction On Second Award. Weaklend v. Weaklend, Case Nos. D086167 et al. (4th Dist., Div. 1 July 30, 2025) (unpublished) confirms that an appellate court is divested of jurisdiction from considering an appeal of a subsequent Family Code section 2030 fee award where the same
4/3 DCA Dismissed The Appeal As The Trial Court’s Interlocutory Order On The Discovery Referee Fees Was Not A Sanctions Order, Did Not Use The Word Sanctions, And Did Not Cite Authority To Impose Sanctions. The parties in Glickman v. Krolikowski, Case No. G064853 (4th Dist., Div. 3 March 7, 2025) (published), stipulated to
Appeal Was Dismissed. The defense in Ali v. Dignity Health, Case No. B331058 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Dec. 31, 2024) (unpublished) won some aspects of a SLAPP motion and was granted some mandatory fees, but the defense appealed and claimed that the SLAPP motion should have been granted in entirety and more fees awarded.
Lodestar Analysis Does Not Apply In A Brandt Contingency Case Situation. Under Brandt v. Superior Court, 37 Cal.3d 813 (1985), a jury or lower court (via a posttrial stipulation for the court) can award attorney’s fees to a prevailing plaintiff as damages in an insurance case limited to the time spent to recover the
Another Lesson We Have Preached: Appeal Separate Costs And Sanctions Orders. In Abelar v. Providence Health System-Southern California, Case No. B321885 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Dec. 13, 2024) (unpublished), plaintiffs lost a medical malpractice case against numerous defendants, with the lower court imposing CCP § 128.5 sanctions of $11,425 against plaintiff’s counsel as to
Lack Of Adequate Record Doomed Both Appeals, But They Also Failed On The Merits. In Paige v. Nolan, Case No. B322162 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Dec. 13, 2024) (unpublished), plaintiff refused a CCP § 998 offer in a legal malpractice case, with defendant attorney winning. The lower court did award attorney some expert witness
Appellant Can Be Free To Appeal When A Final Order Is Issued. In Marriage of O’Hill, Case No. G062146 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Oct. 1, 2024) (unpublished), a family law judge expressly stated in his order that pendente lite fee orders were subject to reasonableness findings and further revisions at a later date. The
$433,905 Was The Ask, But Nothing Awarded At Trial Level, Affirmed On Appeal. Financial incentives and avoidances are always at play in private attorney general fee requests. Unfortunately, petitioners drew the short end of the stick at both the trial and appellate levels in Calvary Chapel San Jose v. Superior Court (6th Dist. Sept.
Employers Not Paying Fees Upfront Can Be Exposed To Further Arbitration Expenses Before the Axe Comes Down; Appellate Court Found No FAA Preemption, With This Preemption Issue Now Being Reviewed By The California Supreme Court. Although unpublished, Costa-Fleeson v. Americor Funding, Inc., Case No. G062962 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Aug. 1, 2024) (unpublished) is
