Cases: Family Law

Family Law: Needs-Based Fee Award For Appellate Work Remanded Based On Settlement Fees Clause Showing Award Premature Until Prevailing Party Determined

Cases: Family Law

  Settlement Agreement Fees Clause Preempted Needs-Based Award, Most Likely.      Marriage of Gurnee, Case No. D059672 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Dec. 6, 2012) (unpublished) is an interesting unpublished case exploring the tension between statutory needs-based fee shifting statutes in the dissolution area and contractual settlement fees clauses that conflict with the statutory regime.     

Family Law: Second Appeal Is Not A Charm For Husband

Cases: Family Law

  $70,000 Needs-Based Award Affirmed So Wife Can Prepare for Trial.      Husband, in a prior appeal, did not convince the appellate court to overturn a $200,000 needs-based fees award in favor of wife. He didn’t in a second appeal of a $70,000 fees award made to wife so she could prepare for a 7-day

Family Law: Needs-Based $9,000 Fee Award To Wife And Failure To Award Fees To Husband For 271 Sanctions Award Against Wife Were No Abuses of Discretion

Cases: Family Law

  Income Earning Disparity Was Tangible and Failure to Provide More Information on 271 Request Was Fatal.      Husband challenged two things in Marriage of Smith, Case No. B232161 (2d Dist., Div. 8 Oct. 10, 2012) (unpublished): (1) a needs-based Family Code 2030/2032 fee award of $9,000 to wife; and (2) refusal to award him

Family Law: $10,000 Section 271 Sanctions Award Reversed Because Reasonable Position Was Taken, Husband Was Ill, And His Financial Position Did Not Justify Award

Cases: Family Law

       Marriage of De Monbrun, Case No. B236130 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Oct. 3, 2012) (unpublished) involved a husband’s challenge to a $10,000 sanction awarded to wife under Family Code section 271. Husband did well to appeal, gaining a reversal on appeal.      Section 271 is not meant to incorporate the “English rule” into

Attorney’s Fees Trifecta: Fee Clause Interpretation, Family Law Child Order Fees, And SLAPP Fees Dominate In Trio Of Unpublished Decisions

Cases: Family Law, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: SLAPP

  Mossman v. Naranjo, Case No. D059054 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Sept. 18, 2012) (Unpublished)–CAR Form Real Estate Contract Covers Fees Won For Real Property Nondisclosure Claims.      Plaintiffs/buyers won fraud-based claims for property nondisclosures from defendants/sellers, but defendants won the contract based claim. The lower court denied fees to both parties, finding no prevailing

Family Law: Denial Of Attorney’s Fees Was Correct Given Trial Court’s Interpretation Of The Marital Settlement Agreement As Not Encompassing Stock Options As A Bonus Based On Performance

Cases: Family Law

  Wife Lost Bonus and Fees Dispute.      In Schnopp v. Schnopp, Case No. B236111 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Sept. 5, 2012) (unpublished), wife lost the merits of her claim that stock options based on performance constituted a bonus for which additional child support compensation was due, The trial court found that marital settlement agreement

Reasonableness Of Fees: Hard To Fit This One–Client And Attorney Squabble In Divorce Case Results In $400 Net Award To Wife

Cases: Family Law, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Law Firm’s Appeal Lacked Merit on Procedural and Merit Grounds–”Get Outta Here”.      You know, this case does not really fit well within our categories, and co-contributor Marc is a stickler for trying to put our posts into categories. However, a very entertaining decision has come down from our local Santa Ana appellate court,

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