Cases: Civil Rights – Page 27 – Cal Attorneys Fees

Landlord/Tenant & Civil Rights: Plaintiff Not Entitled To Fee Recovery Under Retaliatory Eviction Or FEHA Fee Shifting Provisions

March 30, 2011

Published Decision Affirms Lower Court Denial of Fees. In Morrison v. Vineyard Creek, Case No. A127476 (1st Dist., Div. 5 Mar. 29, 2011) (certified for publication), plaintiff resolved a retaliatory eviction/FEHA dispute via settlement with defendants by which no wrongdoing was admitted but agreed that plaintiff could operate a family child care home […]

Civil Rights: Prevailing Defendant Over Claims Under Civil Code Sections 52 And 54.3 Not Entitled To Fee-Shifting Recovery Under Section 55

Cases: Civil Rights

March 25, 2011

Sections 52 and 54.3 Held to Create Implied Exception to Section 55. The appellate court in Turner v. Assn. of American Medical Colleges, Case No. A126742 (1st Dist., Div. 5 Mar. 24, 2011) (certified for publication) had to consider dueling fee-shifting provisions under the Unruh Civil Rights Act: sections 52 and 54.3 only allowing

Civil Rights: FEHA Winning Plaintiff, Despite Appellate Merry-Go-Round, Retains Substantial Fee/Costs Award

Cases: Civil Rights

March 24, 2011

. . . And Gets Remand For More Retrial and Appellate Fees! Although this case took a very circuitous appellate route (through two appeals), tenacity sometimes pays off. It did in this one, especially where there was a mandatory FEHA fee-shifting provision in favor of the prevailing plaintiff. Fotheringham v. Avery Dennison Corp.,

Civil Rights/Allocation: Nonfrivolous Federal Civil Right Claim Fees Awarded As Part Of Anti-SLAPP Fee Recovery Would Not Withstand Appellate Scrutiny

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: SLAPP

February 12, 2011

Ninth Circuit Reverses and Remands To Craft Fee Recovery Only for anti-SLAPP Work. In Fox v. Vice, No. 10-114 (U.S. Sup. Ct., cert. granted, 131 S. Ct. 505 [Nov. 1, 2010]), the United States Supreme Court will consider whether attorney’s fees can be awarded for intertwined work when the civil rights claims are determined

Civil Rights: Winning Defendants Could Not Recoup Attorney’s Fees Against DFEH Under CCP § 1028.5 Sanctions Statute

Cases: Civil Rights

February 10, 2011

Government Code Section 12989.2 Prohibition Trumped Award Under § 1028.5. In Dept. of Fair Employment and Housing v. Mayr, Case No. H034935 (6th Dist. Feb. 9, 2011) (certified for publication), defendants won against Department of Fair Employment and Hosuing (DFEH) in a housing discrimination action, with the lower court awarding defendants attorney’s fees aggregating

Civil Rights: $140,000 Fee Award To School District Revised Under IDEA Fee Shifting Provision

Cases: Civil Rights

February 5, 2011

Chief Judge Kozinski, on behalf of Ninth Circuit, Clarifies IDEA Fee Recovery Provision As to Defendants. R.P. v. Prescott Unified School Dist., Case Nos. 09-15651/09-16786 (9th Cir. Feb. 4, 2011) (for publication) involved a situation where a district court affirmed an ALJ’s determinations in a parent-commenced suit on behalf of a child claiming child

Civil Rights: Ninth Circuit, In Sharply Divided Opinion, Finds That Pro-Rata Allocation Of Fees Between Frivolous And Nonfrivolous Claims Is Impermissible

Cases: Civil Rights

January 20, 2011

Majority Acknowledges Tough Burden Resulting to Defense Under Its “But For” Documentation Test, Drawing a Sharp Dissent from Circuit Judge Bybee. The next Ninth Circuit decision is an interesting one for defendants seeking fees in civil rights cases. It involves a situation where there were multiple claims, some based on civil rights, some on

Civil Rights/Sanctions: Federal Court of Appeals Provides Guidance on When Fees Should Be Awarded Against Losing Civil Rights Plaintiffs

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Sanctions

January 12, 2011

First Circuit Finds Excluded Trial Evidence Could Be Used to Determine Reasonableness of Suit, Reversing Fee Award; Reviewing Court Also Scaled Down Sanctions Against Plaintiffs’ Attorney. In a civil rights political discrimination case, a district judge granted the defendants’ motion for judgment as a matter of law after a 15 day trial, in

Class Actions/Civil Rights/Private Attorney General/Settlements: California Lawyer Article Explores Negotiation Of Attorney’s Fees In Public Agency Cases

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5), Cases: Settlement

January 4, 2011

Concurrent Negotiation of Substantive Relief and Fees in Public Agency Cases Is Allowable. Adam W. Hofmann, an attorney in the San Francisco office of Hanson Bridgett, has written an article entitled “Negotiating Attorneys Fees” in the January 2011 edition of The California Lawyer. In it, he explains that California cases expressly reject any

Year End Wrap-Up: Mike & Marc’s Top 20 Attorney’s Decision Fees Decisions–Part 2 of 2.

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Costs, Cases: Experts, Cases: Liens for Attorney Fees, Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5), Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Requests for Admission, Cases: Retainer Agreements, Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

December 24, 2010

Here is the second installment of our top 20 decisions. 10. Jankey v. Lee, 181 Cal.App.4th 1173 (1st Dist., Div. 4 2010), review granted, No. S180890 (May 12, 2010) — authored by Presiding Justice Ruvolo; discussed in our Feb. 6, 2010 post. Attorney’s fees are awardable to a prevailing defendant under Civil