Cases: Arbitration

Arbitration/Fee Clause Interpretation: Superior Court Award Of Attorney’s Fees To Arbitration Party Successfully Defending Arbitrator Disqualification Order Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

  $55,698 Fee Award Justified Based On Broad Fees Clause in Operating Agreement.      Fiscal Funding Co., Inc. v. Dones, Case No. A135451 (1st Dist., Div. 3 Dec. 15, 2014) (unpublished) involved a $55,698 fee award by the superior court to a party to an arbitration successfully defending an arbitrator’s disqualification order in superior court […]

Arbitration/Section 1717: Arbitrator Who Applies Statutory Definition of “Prevailing Party” To Award Fees Rather Than Contractual Definition Does Not Exceed His Powers

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Section 1717

Court Does Not Decide Whether Contractual Provision Limiting Arbitrator’s Power To Apply Definition Of “Prevailing Party” Other Than Found In Agreement Would Be Unenforceable As Violative Of Public Policy.      Does an arbitrator who applies the statutory definition of “prevailing party” found in Civil Code Section 1717(b)(1), rather than than the definition the parties contractually

Arbitration: Policy Against Certain Fee Splitting Arrangements Does Not Justify Judicial Review Of Arbitration Award Enforcing Oral Fee Splitting Arrangement

Cases: Arbitration

Arbitrator Did Not Exceed His Powers By Enforcing Oral Fee Splitting Arrangement       Attorneys Cohen and Sheinkopf had an oral agreement to split client fees:  75% to Cohen, 25% to Sheinkopf.  After the two attorneys went their separate ways, they arbitrated a fee dispute in which the arbitrator enforced their oral fee splitting agreement, resulting

Arbitration: Judgment Confirming Revised Final Award Allowing Fee Recovery, Where Initial Final Award Denied Fees, Reversed On Appeal

Cases: Arbitration

  Arbitrator Did Exceed Powers in Correcting Awards on a Merits Issue, Especially Where JAMS Rule Did Not Allow For Reconsideration/Revisions of a Final Award.      Cooper v. Lavely & Singer Professional Corp., Case No. B251508 (2d Dist., Div. 4 Sept. 26, 2014) (published) is an important decision on correction and revisions of initial “final”

Arbitration/Prevailing Party: Losing Party Never Seeking To Compel Arbitration Had To Bear Big Fee Recovery In Litigation Case Against Prevailing Party

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Prevailing Party

  $308,383.72 Fee Recovery Affirmed On Appeal.      In Ito v. Ito, Case No. A136513 (1st Dist., Div. 3 Sept. 24, 2014) (unpublished), one party, in an LLC dissolution case, received $461,958 plus title to 3 properties, while second party received $20,092 plus title to one property in litigation with fee-shifting clauses in LLC operating

Arbitration/Prevailing Party: Earlier Appellate Court Reversal Of Judgment Confirming Arbitration Award Because Party Should Have Not Been Subject To Arbitration Meant No Fee Recovery

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Prevailing Party

  Successful Party in Arbitration, Suffering Setback on Appeal, Was Not a Prevailing Party.      In Guerra v. Aurora Loan Services, LLC, Case No. H038813 (6th Dist. Sept. 19, 2014) (unpublished), a lower court denied a successful arbitration litigant his fees in connection with an equally successful petition to confirm the arbitration award. The trial

Arbitration/Prevailing Party/Retainer Agreements: Law Firm Winning Malpractice Phase Of Arbitration And Judicial Confirmation Award Proceedings Entitled To Recovery Of Over $2.19 Million In Attorney’s Fees Against Sophisticated Former Client Defenda

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Retainer Agreements

  Arbitration Fee Clause Broad Enough to Encompass Torts, and Trope Waiver Clause Enforced For Judicial Confirmation Recovery Fees By Law Firm Personnel.      This next 2-1 decision, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan v. Kurtin, Case No. B250245 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Jul. 28, 2014) (unpublished), is an interesting one involving affirmance of an arbitration

Arbitration/Employment: Agreement With Arbitration Provision Not Unconscionable Because It Had Reciprocal Fees Clause

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Employment

  1/1 DCA Reverses Lower Court’s Unconscionability Determination Below.      In Galen v. Redfin Corp., Case No. A138642 (1st Dist., Div. 1 July 21, 2014) (published), a lower court found unconscionable an arbitration provision in an employment contract under California law. The appellate court reversed, finding the FAA applied and disagreeing that the provision was

Arbitration/Probate/Sanctions: Trust Beneficiary Gets Hit With Settlement Agreement Fees/Costs And CCP § 128.7 Sanctions

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Probate, Cases: Sanctions

Problem Was That Arbitrator Could Construe Settlement Agreement, While Probate Court Could Control Arbitrator Appointment Issues.             This is a case where a trust beneficiary in Estate of Buser Trust, Case No. Do63381 (4th Dist., Div. 1 July 3, 2014) (unpublished) somewhat stepped into litigation “goo,” especially where both a probate court and arbitrator were

Scroll to Top