Cases: Costs

Costs Deadline, Fee Substantiation and Allocation: Fees/Costs Awarded In Anti-Speculation Liquidated Damages Clause Dispute Affirmed In Favor Of Developer

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Costs, Cases: Deadlines, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

Liquidated Damages Clause Found Valid; Fees/Costs Award Sustained Also.      This next decision should be of substantive interest to both developers and our readers interested in fee issues.      Although unpublished, Beck Properties, Inc. v. Hameed, Case No. C058279 (Dec. 11, 2009) decided that an anti-speculation clause in a purchase agreement between a developer and […]

Probate: Probate Courts Can Award Fees Against Losing Beneficiaries’ Future Trust Distributions When Their Actions Found To Be In Bad Faith

Cases: Costs, Cases: Probate, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

Fifth District, in Published Decision, Supports Broad Equitable Powers of Probate Courts.      Probate contests are often donnybrooks between different beneficiaries or relatives. This next one was certainly that. However, the losing minority beneficiaries caused the trustee to expend lots of attorney’s fees, which were recouped when the probate court ruled they could be obtained

Routine Costs: “Lack Of Unity Of Interest” With Co-Defendants Meant That Prevailing Defendant Gained An Award Of Routine Costs

Cases: Costs

Second District, Division 4 Affirms Costs Award in Favor of Prevailing Party.      In Marina Glencoe, L.P. v. Neue Sentimental Film A.G., Case No. B203163 (2d Dist., Div. 4 Dec. 2, 2009) (unpublished), prevailing party defendant in a dismissed contractual breach action obtained a routine costs award of $14,697.58, which was appealed by the losing

Appellate Routine Costs: Paralegal Fees Not Awardable As Routine Costs On Appeal

Cases: Costs

Fourth District, Division 1 So Rules in Unpublished Decision.      In Jameson v. Desta, Case No. D053089 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Nov. 23, 2009) (certified for partial publication, but pertinent part for this post unpublished), the Fourth District, Division 1 held that paralegal fees are not recoverable as “costs on appeal” under California Rules of

Arbitration: Trial Court Has Authority To Award Limited Arbitration Fees And Costs

Cases: Arbitration, Cases: Costs

Lower Court Erred In Awarding $5,218.60 in Filing Fees, Motion Fees, and Registered Process Server Charges.      In Meyers v. Fitzgerald, Case No. H032605 (6th Dist. Nov. 19, 2009) (unpublished), plaintiffs filed a complaint that was ordered to arbitration. The complaint was later dismissed without prejudice based on certain voluntarily actions taken by defendants. However,

Routine Cost: Out-Of-State Counsel’s Deposition Travel Expenses Are Awardable

Cases: Costs

  Second District, Division 7 Agrees with Sister Court that Costs Are Awardable if Reasonably Necessary to the Conduct of the Litigation Based on Analogous Out-of-County Counsel Cases.      In Jessen v. Mentor Corp., Case No. B210059 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Nov. 17, 2009) (unpublished), the Second District, Division 7 agreed with the Fourth District,

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

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