Cases: Arbitration

Arbitration: Substantial Fee Awards Of Around $672,000 By An Arbitrator Under A Contractual Fees Clause Are Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Arbitration

Arbitrator’s Fee Clause Interpretation Was Immune From A Merits Challenge.             In Mikali v. Benyamini, Case No. B316525 (2d Dist., Div. 5 May 16, 2023) (unpublished), an arbitrator interpreted a fees clause under a contractual agreement with an arbitration and fees clause, awarding certain defendants, respectively, $639,119 in fees and $32,647 in fees.  The trial […]

Arbitration, Prevailing Party: Attorney Fees And Costs Award Of $334,458.41 Affirmed Against Plaintiff Attorney Who Achieved, Under A Confirmed Arbitration Award, A Monetary Recovery Of A Small Bit Of The $3,720 In Fees He Sought From Defendant Client

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Prevailing Party

The Award Was Governed By The Statutory Fee Provisions Provided For By The Mandatory Fee Arbitration Act, Not The Parties’ Contract Fee Provision.             Under the MFAA (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6200 et seq.), enacted to eliminate bargaining power disparity between attorneys and clients trying to resolve fee disputes, neither party to a

Arbitration, Prevailing Party, Reasonableness Of Fees: Client Who Reversed Post-MFAA De Novo Trial Results And Who Confirmed The Prior Arbitration Award Was The Prevailing Party

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

Because Client Had To Hire Appellate Attorneys Reversing The De Novo Trial Results, Client Was Awarded $334,458.11 In Fees/Costs—Affirmed By The Appellate Court.             Soni v. Cartograph, Inc., Case No. B316270 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Mar. 23, 2023) (unpublished) is quite a megillah of an arbitration/litigation odyssey about a client-attorney dispute over fees.  Looks like

Arbitration: Arbitration Fee Clause Saying That Both Sides Bear Their Own Fees, Subject To Reallocation By Arbitrator, Did Aid Substantive Unconscionability Determinations By Trial And Appellate Courts

Cases: Arbitration

CLRA Claims Require Bad Faith Prosecution To Award Prevailing Party Fees To Defendants, With The Clause Not Covering This Eventuality.             Gostev v. Skillz Platform, Inc., Case No. A164407 (1st Dist., Div. 2 Feb. 28, 2023) (published) is a must read for litigants and their attorneys on the enforceability of delegation and other arbitration damage/statute

Arbitration, Employment: Where Defendant Employer Lost Small Merits Award And Fee Award After Reconsideration By Arbitrator, But Did Not Timely File Motions To Correct Or Vacate, Fee Award Had To Be Affirmed

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Employment

Bright-Line Rules On Arbitration Procedures Adopted, With Plaintiff Employee Entitled To Fees On Appeal.             This case may have more tips for practitioners and jurists when it comes to deadlines for parties seeking to correct and vacate arbitration awards, especially where a timely motion to confirm an arbitration award is made.  However, we briefly summarize

Arbitration, Fee Clause Interpretation: $1,648,620.17 Contractual Fee Award By An Arbitration Award Against FeeDx Affirmed In A Ninth Circuit Opinion

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Arbitration Tribunal’s Fee Award Was Not Completely Irrational In Nature Under The FAA.             In HayDay Farms, Inc. v. FeeDx Holdings, Inc., Case Nos. 21-55650/21-55698 (9th Cir. Dec. 19, 2022) (published), two parties (HayDay and FeeDx) entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with each other through Nippon, providing for arbitration and making Nippon liable for

Arbitration: Employer’s Failure To Pay Its Share Of Required Arbitration Fees And Costs Within 30 Days Breached The Arbitration Agreement So That Employee Could Pursue Claims In Court

Cases: Arbitration

Issue Was Failure To Pay Fees/Costs For An Arbitration Continuance, But Arbitration Initiation Case Reasoning Was Analogous.              DeLeon v. Juanita’s Foods, Case No. B315394 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Nov. 23, 2022) (published) is the next progression from Espinoza v. Superior Court, 83 Cal.App.5th 761, 775-776 (2022), which held that an employer’s failure to timely

Arbitration: Arbitration Claimant Failing To Raise Fee Entitlement Basis As A Ground For Fee Award Waived The Argument In Later Arbitration Confirmation Proceedings

Cases: Arbitration

This Was No Ground To Correct The Award.             In Hollander v. Tennenbaum Capital Partners, LLC, Case No. B314018 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Nov. 21, 2022) (unpublished), the appellate court rejected an arbitration claimant’s argument that Labor Code fees were unwaivable when the claimant did not articulate that ground as a basis for the fee

Arbitration: Arbitrator’s Revised Award Of Fees To Prevailing Defendant Reversed Where Initial Merits Award Expressly Denied Fees To Defendant

Cases: Arbitration

Revised Award Was Not A Mere Correction, But A Substantive Merits Reconsideration And Impermissible New Award.             Taska v. TheRealReal, Inc., Case No. A164130 (1st Dist., Div. 5 Nov. 4, 2022) (published) was a situation where an arbitrator found in employer’s favor on the merits and denied employer’s fee request after finding employee’s case was

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