Cases: Costs

Costs/Equity/Indemnity/Tort of Another: Individual Brokers Not Liable For Real Estate Seller’s Attorney Fee Exposure To Buyers, But Individual Brokers Face Exposure For Sellers’ Own Defense Attorneys Fees In Nondisclosure Lawsuit

Cases: Costs, Cases: Equity, Cases: Indemnity, Cases: Tort of Another

Implied Contractual and Equitable Indemnity Theories Cannot Undermine American Rule. ​Dalton v. Francis, Case No. H033247 (6th Dist. June 26, 2014) (unpublished) involved a buyer lawsuit against seller and dual real estate agents for nondisclosures in connection with a residential sale regarding a dilapidated septic system. The problem was that seller and individual brokers negligently […]

Costs/Settlements: FDCPA—SCOTUS Decides Nonprevailing Plaintiff Can Be Discretionarily Liable For Costs Without Proof Of Bad Faith; Second Circuit Informs Defendants How To Moot FDCPA Claims Through Rule 68 Offer

Cases: Costs, Cases: Settlement

  Marx Confronted Costs Issue, Providing Relief to Prevailing Defendants In District Court’s Discretion.      In Marx v. General Revenue Corp., 133 S. Ct. 1166, 1172 (2013), the U.S. Supreme Court held that an unsuccessful plaintiff in a Fair Debt Collection Practice Act (FDCPA) case can be liable for defense costs even absent proof that

Costs: Lower Court Properly Awarded Prevailing Plaintiff Expenses For Computer Illustrations And Correctly Failed To Apportion Certain Expenses Among Other Defendants Not Present At Trial

Cases: Costs

  However, Remand Necessary to Determine if Lower Court Parsed Out Costs of Pretrial Transcripts.      In Hellam v. Crane Co., Case Nos. A1380131/A139141 (1st Dist., Div. 4 Apr. 16, 2014) (unpublished), plaintiff won a sizable asbestos verdict against defendant. The lower court then awarded prevailing plaintiff about $85,000 in routine costs out of a

Civil Rights/Costs/Lodestar: FEHA Winning Plaintiff Entitled To Almost $88,500 In Costs, But Trial Court Utilized Incorrect Lodestar Analysis On Reasonable Hourly Rate And Determining Hours Worked When Awarding $484,687.50 Out Of Requested $1,675,627.50

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Costs, Cases: Lodestar

  Matter Remanded for Re-fixing of Fees Award.      Plaintiff winning a California Family Rights Act, some FEHA, and two common law claims—obtaining a jury verdict of $287,400–moved to recover about $95,000 in routine costs and $1,675,627.50 in fees enhanced by a 2.0 positive multiplier for well over $3 million in requested fees. The trial

Costs: Where Prevailing Party Falls Into One Of Mandatory Cost Categories, Lower Court Has No Discretion And Must Award Costs

Cases: Costs

  Trial Courts Cannot Determine “Prevailing Party” Discretionarily, If Categorical Fit Exists.      Site Management Services, Inc. v. Cingular Wireless LLC, Case No. D057106 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Mar. 13, 2014) (unpublished) is a doozy of a case, involving colocation agreements between cellular tower and related service companies.      “A very orange Bryan Jordan

Appealability/Civil Rights/Costs: Trial Court’s Reduction Of Some Costs Items Showed It Did Credit Ability To Pay When Assessing Costs Against Non-prevailing FEHA Plaintiff

Cases: Appealability, Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Costs

  DCA Also Addressed Some Special Costs Items in the Process; Sustained Cost Award Assessed Against Counsel When Counsel Did Not Appeal.      Losing plaintiff in a FEHA case appealed after the lower court ordered that $34,906.12 in routine costs be paid by her (out of a requested $54,667.39).      Her challenges to the award

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