Not So Appealing In Kashani v. Rochman, Case Nos. B226060/B231915 (2d Dist., Div. 4 Feb. 21, 2013) (unpublished), the trial court denied a fee motion without prejudice, finding it should be deferred until a further resolution in the matter. The fee applicants appealed, but the appeal was dismissed. The reason? The trial court simply […]
Court of Appeal, Facing Some Gnarly Procedural Issues, Finds Trial Court Denial Was Correct. Gunn v. Superior Court (Mai Kai Community Assn.), Case No. G046989 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Feb. 7, 2013) (unpublished) was a situation where an HOA voluntarily dismissed without prejudice an action after a homeowner early on relented and allowed
Cannot Bootstrap and Avoid of Finality of Sanctions Order, Says Appelllate Court. In Wang v. Cunningham, Case No. A134757 (1st Dist., Div. 2 Jan. 31, 2013) (unpublished), a family law judge refused to reverse an earlier 2010 order awarding Family Code section 271 sanctions of over $32,000 to a former wife, doing so
This next case, Soni v. CH&I Technologies, Inc., Case No. B240173 (2d Dist., Div. 8 Jan. 30, 2013) (unpublished), enters into the arcane fray of fees only awards and supersedeas grants. So, here we go. After observing that this was the third appeal between the parties (hint! hint!), the background for all
Trap for the Unwary: Order Denying a Motion for Reconsideration Is Not An Appealable Order. The administrator of an estate requested authorization to pay his attorney for both ordinary and extraordinary services to the estate. The trial court granted these requests in a formal order. One of the relatives of the decedent filed
Failure to Provide Fee Motion Papers and Reporter’s Transcript of Fee Motion Clinched the Affirmance. Goesch v. Hennagan, Case No. H037259 (6th Dist. Oct. 31, 2012) (unpublished), authored by Justice Elia on behalf of a 3-0 panel, is another stark reminder of two important points necessary to preserve appellate jurisdiction/review: (1) appeal from
Appeal Sanctions Denied Because No Declaration Filed to Support Fee Request. Preserving claims for trial court error depends on raising the argument below and providing an adequate record to the appellate court. Violation of either principle likely means an appeal will be unsuccessful. Likewise, with respect to appeal sanctions, one must follow the
The Second District, Division 1, in Huang v. Ko, Case No. B228092 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Sept. 27, 2012) (unpublished), found it could not review an adverse $34,069.33 fee award to a real property seller for one simple reason: the aggrieved party failed to separately appeal the attorney’s fees order, a fatal error
Appeal Dismissed Because Unscheduled Property Cannot Be Abandoned at Close of Bankruptcy Proceeding. Lamas v. Infinity Ins. Co., Case No. B233042 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Aug. 23, 2012) (unpublished; 3-0 decision authored by Justice Johnson) is a situation where plaintiff appealed some discovery sanctions even though she had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Result Was Dismissal of the Appeal. Reedy v. Bussell, Case No. D059378 (4th Dist., Div. 1 July 26, 2012) (unpublished) was a situation where a trust beneficiary appealed maintenance expenses and attorney’s fees awarded to a trustee after a lower court order found that the expenditures were for the common benefit of the
