Unexplained Denial Was Erroneous. In Harrington v. EquiTrust Life Ins. Co., Case No. 12-17267 (9th Cir. Feb. 24, 2015) (published), defendant prevailed on RICO claims through a summary judgment motion, but the district judge denied costs—providing no explanation for the denial. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the summary judgment grant, but reversed the costs […]
Costs and sanctions are generally discretionary matters, even if the record might show a different conclusion could have been reached. Appellate courts are loathe to disturb a trial court’s conclusion in such matters, as Sdun v. Patterson, Case No. C070623 (3d Dist. Feb. 18, 2015) (unpublished) aptly illustrates. There, plaintiffs won a
Petition for Rehearing Was Correct Clarification Vehicle, But Filed Too Late. The Fourth District, Division 3, in an opinion following rehearing, came to the same result in Ducoing Management, Inc. v. Superior Court, Case No. G050457 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Feb. 10, 2015) (published), a writ proceeding which involved Presiding Justice O’Leary, Justice
License Agreement Involving the “Four Seasons” Was At Center Of Controversy. This next post is a fun one, involving the “Four Seasons” and “Jersey Boys,” and of course the different band members and an agreement between all of them granting transfer of rights about aspects of their lives with the band, including biographies.
Subsequent Tax Costs Ruling Incidental to Prior Judgment. Plaintiff in Dinaali v. Rohani, Case No. B245126 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Feb. 2, 2015) (unpublished) lost an interference/fraud lawsuit against the defense, which obtained a summary judgment on December 4, 2012 with an award of costs to be established through a cost memorandum. Plaintiff
Owner Was Not Prevailing Party in Lemon Law Case Because Owner Did Not Recoup Main Objective in the Form of Civil Penalty. On January 3, 2015, we posted on MacQuiddy v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, Case No. B251752 (2d Dist., Div. 8), which held among other things that a car owner in a lemon
180-Day Rule, Not 15-Day Rule, Applied. Notice of entry of judgment is a key concept for determining whether certain subsequent filings are timely in nature. Code of Civil Procedure section 664.5 provides that notice of entry of judgment mailed by the clerk must “affirmatively state it is given upon order by the court”
Car Manufacturer Defendant Prevailed For Fees, But Might Be Liable For Some Routine Costs. Actually, we can say that counsel for Mercedes-Benz in this case made some good moves as far as mitigating fee/costs exposure. M-B was embroiled in a gripe from a car owner about excessive multiple repairs. Car owner sued, but
Aggrieved Party Timely Objected To Proposed Judgment, So Timely Challenge Made To Duplicative Costs Award. In Ecolite Concrete U.S.A., Inc. v. G.S. Levine Ins. Services, Inc., Case Nos. D064178 et al. (4th Dist., Div. 1 Dec. 31, 2014) (unpublished), a cross-complainant was hit with a costs judgment in favor of party #1 even
Order Taxing Costs By Over Half Was No Abuse of Discretion, Either. In Berro v. County of Los Angeles, Case No. B223515 (2d Dist., Div. 4 Dec. 22, 2014) (unpublished), plaintiff—an ex-Los Angeles fire department captain—lost a FEHA case (mainly through a summary judgment motion), but the lower court refused to award Fire
