However, Fee Order Affirmed Due To Inadequate Record. In Van v. Cameron, Case No. D068630 (4th Dist., Div. 1 July 14, 2013) (unpublished), plaintiff lost a SLAPP motion and was hit with a mandatory fee award of $24,815.75. Plaintiff’s appeal was unsuccessful on the merits. Although the defense raised the argument that the SLAPP […]
Traffic Infraction Winners May Face Hard Road to Hoe As Far As Fee Recovery. In Gray v. Superior Court, Case No. B269150 (2d Dist., Div. 3 May 31, 2016) (published), a person failing to stop at a red light partially won an automated camera traffic enforcement challenge, with the person filing to recovery
Deposition Costs Were Reasonable Under The Circumstances. In Estate of Gasper, Case No. A142068 (1st Dist., Div. 1 Apr. 28, 2016) (unpublished), an attorney handling the closing of a probate estate sued the title company for improperly closing escrow on a piece of real estate and causing him to incur fees/expenses in cleaning
. . . . Although Fee Award Made At Same Time As Merits Ruling Can Be Appealed. The First District, Division 3 took the time to reconsider a motion to dismiss a SLAPP plaintiff’s appeal of fairly substantial fee awards after defense grants of a SLAPP motion. (The fee awards totaled over $603,000
Postjudgment Fees Also Reversed, But Expert Witness Fees Sustained Based On Failure To Separate Appeal The Postjudgment Award. In Kayne v. Mense, Case No. B254975 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Mar. 25, 2016) (unpublished), defendants were found to have breached a fiduciary duty to plaintiff (giving rise to compensatory and punitive damages) and found
No Final Judgment, No Postjudgment Order For Fees To Appeal. A debtor in a parallel bankruptcy proceeding, which subsequently filed a state court action against defendants, appealed a trial judge’s denial of a fee request in Sui v. Price, Case No. G051510 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Feb. 22, 2016) (unpublished). The appeal was
Once Amounts Fixed, Appeal Of Actual Postjudgment Awards Would Be Proper. The Fifth District case of Estate of Kinerson, Case No. F070309 (5th Dist. Feb. 22, 2016) (unpublished) concerned certain rulings in a probate estate about whether classic cars, shop tools and household furnishings belonged to the surviving spouse as separate property or
Confusion Amok – But Fee and Expert Witness Fee Recovery Awaited Subsequent Determinations. JMR Construction Corp. v. Environmental Assessment and Remediation Mgt., Inc., Case No. H039055 (6th Dist. Dec. 30, 2015) (partially published; fee and expert witness fee discussions not published) just goes to show you that fee and 998 recoveries will not have
Costs—CEQA Record Preparation: North County Advocates v. City of Carlsbad, Case No. D066488 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Sept. 10, 2015) (Unpublished). In this first case, the appellate court reversed and remanded a costs award in favor of City in a costs award with respect to certain record preparation costs. The takeaways here are
Trial Court Properly Found They Were “Reasonably Necessary.” In Green v. County of Riverside, Case No. D067424 (4th Dist., Div. 1 July 29, 2015) (published), plaintiff lost an unreasonable police force civil rights case. Later, the trial judge awarded defendants $66,453.02 in costs, $40,610.68 of which constituted paralegal fees for helping prepare/present electronic
