Cases: Costs

Fee Clause Interpretation: Broadly-Worded Fees Clause Gave Rise To Fee Exposure For Non-Contract Claims

Cases: Costs, Cases: Prevailing Party

Second District, Division 8 Affirms $250,000 Fee Award to Prevailing Defendants.      A broadly-worded attorney’s fees provision—such as one allowing for fee recovery in “any action whatsoever arising from rights and obligations established under [the] Bylaws, including but not limited to actions for damages resulting from a breach of these Bylaws or actions for specific […]

Costs And Fees: Defendants “Unified In Interest” Liable For Routine Costs And Are Denied Substantial Attorney’s Fees Because Allocation Was Proper

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Costs, Cases: Indemnity, Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Second District, Division 3 Address Many, Many Procedural Issues in Unpublished Opinion.      In Matusek v. Benn, Case No. B206776 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Oct. 29, 2009) (unpublished), two sets of defendants (the Murad and Benn defendants, each set composed of businesses and their principals) contracted to create an infomercial using an appearance by plaintiff

Routine Costs: Prevailing Party Determination Is A Pragmatic One Where More Than Monetary Relief Is Involved

Cases: Costs

No One Prevailed in Noncompete Invalidation Battle.      Where more than monetary relief is involved or mixed results are reached, the trial court has substantial leeway in determining which litigant, if any, prevailed in litigation for routine costs purposes. (Code Civ. Proc., sec. 1032(a)(4).) The next case illustrates this well, and also shows that appellate

Reverse POOF!: Losing Homeowners, After Modification On Appeal, Are Entitled To Pursue Recovery Of Court Costs As Prevailing Parties

Cases: Costs, Cases: POOF!, Cases: Unlicensed Contractors

  Fifth District Determines Unlicensed Contractors May Not Offset Reimbursement/Disgorgement Claims Under Unlicensed Contractors Law.      Here is a spin on our category POOF!, where a reversal usually means a fee/costs award goes away for the time being. This next case is a reverse POOF!, where a denial of a costs award was reversed and

FELA Preemption: Federal Law Preempts Cost-Shifting Of CCP 998 Offer In FELA Case

Cases: Costs, Cases: Preemption, Cases: Section 998

  Third District Finds Miller Rule Also Applies to Prevailing 998 Defendant.       In Miller v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., 147 Cal.App.4th 451 (2007), the Third District Court of Appeal decided that the availability of expert witness costs in a Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) action involving an injured railroad employee filed in state court

Costs: Referee’s Costs Were Awardable In Partnership Damages/Accounting Dispute

Cases: Costs

  Fourth District, Division 1 Sustains Award of Referee’s Costs to Prevailing Party.      In Behne v. Chodur, Case Nos. D052416/D053551 (Sept. 24, 2009) (unpublished), a brother and sister unfortunately got into a partnership damages/accounting donnybrook. An accounting referee was appointed by the court to determine the net proceeds of several real estate projects involved

Fee Substantiation: Improper Authentication of Prior Counsel Fee Bills Costs Prevailing Party $141,283.75 In Ultimate Fee Recoupment

Cases: Costs, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

  Demonstrative Evidence and Computer Related Expenses Were Properly Allowed As Routine Costs.      The next case is one that will remind practicing litigators to make sure they properly authenticate fee submissions in support of attorney’s fees request. The decision also has a nice discussion of some routine cost items that are recoverable in this

Prevailing Party and Nonstatutory Costs: Trial Court Award Of $643,606.76 In Fees Is Affirmed Even Though Defendant Eventually Lost Summary Judgment Trial and Appellate Segments

Cases: Costs, Cases: Prevailing Party

Court of Appeal Does Strike Nonstatutory Costs Award, Following Ripley Over Bussey.      In Gaggero v. Yura, Case No. B203780 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Sept. 14, 2009) (unpublished), defendant won a purchase agreement dispute with a contractual fees clause after the trial court found that a condition precedent—CC&Rs—was not agreed on between both sides. (Seller

Civil Rights: Court Of Appeal Affirms Lower Court’s Award of $6,659.15 To Plaintiff Who Had Limited Success And Recovered Only $5,000 In Disability Case

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Costs, Cases: Multipliers

Second District, Division 6 Rejects Plaintiff’s Request for Award of $114,895 in Fees and $27,441.35 in Costs.      Although the courts will award appropriate attorney’s fees to prevailing plaintiffs in civil rights disability cases, they will also discount for limited success and overinflated claims of complexity in litigation of the case.      Molski v. Evergreen

Scroll to Top