Cases: Equity

Equity, Section 998, Settlement: Trial Court’s Refusal To Vacate A Judgment Based On 998 Offers Allegedly Not Consented To By Plaintiff’s Counsel Was Reversed On Appeal

Cases: Equity, Cases: Section 998, Cases: Settlement

Lower Court Did Not Evaluate Under Inherent Authority Of The Court Standards, So A Revisit Was In Order. In Chen v. Asian Square, Inc., Case No. H052309 (6th Dist. Feb. 25, 2026) (unpublished), within hours of defendant accepting plaintiffs’ CCP § 998 offers, plaintiffs’ counsel notified defendant that plaintiffs had not provided informed consent for […]

Equity, Section 1717: Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Losing Reformation Cross-Claim, Where A Contractual Fee Shifting Provision Was Involved, Properly Assessed With An Award Of $547,587 In Attorney’s Fees To Two Prevailing Cross-Complainants

Cases: Equity, Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Reformation Cross-Claim Was “On The Contract,” Apportionment Was Unnecessary, And Awarding Against Cross-Defendant Only Was No Abuse Of Discretion. Modern civil litigation is an expensive, draining process, whether at the state or federal levels.  Where there is fee shifting at play, it becomes even more risky for litigants, as demonstrated by Favilli v. Tung, Case

Equity: Losing Ex-Client Was Entitled To Have The Lower Court Gauge If Her Medical Disabilities Prevented Her From Contesting Post-Arbitration Trial Court Proceedings Where She Was Found Liable To Ex-Attorney For Unpaid Attorney’s Fees

Cases: Equity

Lower Court’s Failure To Consider The Extrinsic Mistake Motion To Vacate Judgment In Post-Arbitration Proceedings Was Error.                In Mehr v. Korbin, Case No. B335052 (2d Dist., Div. 4 Apr. 25, 2025) (unpublished), ex-client and ex-attorney got into a dispute on the division of attorney’s fees from a third-party global settlement, agreeing to arbitrate the

Equity, Section 998: Lower Court’s Discretionary Decision To Vacate A Dismissal Of An Action Based On A Mistaken Defense CCP § 998 Offer Was No Abuse Of Discretion

Cases: Equity, Cases: Section 998

Defense Offer Of $100,000, Rather Than $10,000, Was A Typographical Mistake Worthy Of Correction Where Defense Counsel Notified Plaintiff Of Error Within Three Minutes.                For litigators, we all know we are not perfect, with mistakes being made based on the volume of cases we process.  The next case, Avila v. John N. Kitta and

Equity: Appellate Court Summarily Reverses Fee Grant Order After Referee’s Merits Decision Reversed

Cases: Equity

Court Of Appeal Decided It Had Independent Authority To Summarily Reverse Despite Clear Statutory Authority To Do So.                In Hot Rods, LLC v. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Case No. G062524 (4th Dist., Div. 3 May 8, 2024) (unpublished by-the-court opinion), a referee’s prior merits decision was reversed and remanded, with the aggrieved party also

Equity, Prevailing Party: $54,914.25 Fee Award For Replacement Referee Interim Victory Was Premature

Cases: Equity, Cases: Prevailing Party

Based On Unique Circumstances Of The Litigation, Fee Request Was Premature Until The Overall Merits Were Decided.             Equity does factor in attorney’s fees awards, as Hot Rods, LLC v. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Case No. G061449 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Jan. 25, 2024) (unpublished) makes clear.             This contentious litigation between the parties involved

Deeds Of Trust, Equity: Lender Electing Judicial Foreclosure Which Did Not Fix Amount Of Additional Attorney’s Fees And Costs, But Forcing A Borrower Pay Off To Lender Due To Nonjudicial Foreclosure Activities, Had To Return Fees And Costs To Borrower

Cases: Deeds of Trust, Cases: Equity

Lender Elected Its Judicial Foreclosure Remedy, With Borrower Not Being Assessed With Fees And Costs.             Lender must not be pleased with the result in Transition Financial Services, LLC v. Wintrust Bank, Case Nos. A162930 et al. (1st Dist., Div. 5 Sept. 29, 2023) (unpublished).  Lender obtained a judicial foreclosure judgment for the amount of

Equity, Fee Clause Interpretation: Prevailing Party Awarded Substantial Fees Despite A Bad Typo In The Contractual Fees Provision

Cases: Equity, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Prevailing Party Did Obtain $538,961 In Fees After Reformation By Trial Judge, Affirmed On Appeal.             We bloggers have seen this situation before.  A litigant, like the one in California Décor, Inc. v. Medrano, Case No. B313743 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Mar. 15, 2023) (unpublished), prevailed on its own case and defeated a cross-complaint.  So,

Equity: Specific Performance Judgment Could Not Condition Transfer Of LLC Interests Upon Payment Of Attorney’s Fees Order

Cases: Equity

Fees Were Not A True Incident Of the Specific Performance Judgment.             Youshei v. Yoshaei, Case No. B313770 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Jan. 30, 2023) (unpublished) was a case where the appellate court reversed the portion of a specific performance judgment conditioning a transfer of LLC interests upon the payment of attorney’s fees, because fees

Equity, Judgment Enforcement, Tort Of Another: Law Corporation’s Attempts To Setoff Adverse Judgment For Tort Of Another Fees Were Rebuffed By Court Of Appeal

Cases: Equity, Cases: Judgment Enforcement, Cases: Tort of Another

Nothing Demonstrated Setoff For Tort Of Another Fee Damages Could Be Obtained In A Postjudgment Phase.             The result in David S. Karton, A Law Corporation v. Musick, Peeler, Garrett LLP, Case No. B305837 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Oct. 3, 2022) (published), was driven by a prior appellate opinion where a default in favor of

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