Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Costs, Fee Clause Interpretation: Where Parties In A Residential Landlord-Tenant Dispute Stipulated To No Recovery Of Fees Or Costs Beyond $1,000, That Cap Was Enforceable

Cases: Costs, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

$14,000 In Routine Costs Reversed Because It Exceeded The $1,000 Cap.                Freedom of contract was the theme resonating in the result in Gogal v. Deng, Case No. D084158 (4th Dist., Div. 1 July 22, 2025) (published).  The case was a residential landlord-tenant dispute where tenants were prevailing parties but had a contractual lease clause […]

Fee Clause Interpretation: 4/3 DCA Affirms Substantial Fees Award Against Tenants In A Dana Point Harbor Slip Dispute

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Lower Court Cut Fees Request In Half, Which Was Erroneous, But Respondent’s Failure To Appeal Means The Reduction Did Not Aggrieve Appellants, the Tenants.                In Papageorges v. Dana Point Harbor Partners, Case No. G063688 (4th Dist., Div. 3 June 20, 2025) (unpublished), the upshot from this opinion is that a respondent may want to

Construction, Costs, Ethics, Indemnity, Fee Clause Interpretation, Section 1717: $4.176M Contractual Fee Award To General Contractor And Against Owner Affirmed On Appeal, But Expert Witness Costs Award To General Contractor Reversed As A Matter Of Law

Cases: Construction, Cases: Costs, Cases: Ethics, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Indemnity, Cases: Section 1717

Case Explores Fee Clause Interpretation, An Award Of Fees To An Unlicensed Associate Supervised By A California Attorney, And An Award Of Expert Witness Costs Which Were Not Pled Or Proven As Damages.                The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. v. 250 Fourth Development LP, Case No. A169470 (1st Dist., Div. 5 June 13, 2025) (unpublished) is

Fee Clause Interpretation: Losing Party To An Oral Agreement To Foreclose On A Property Was Not Liable For Fees Under A Promissory Note

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Losing Party Was Not A Signatory To The Note, And The Foreclosure Oral Agreement Was Separate From The Note.                Kim v. Kim, Case No. B336809 (2d Dist., Div. 1 May 14, 2025) (unpublished) involved a fight between plaintiffs and defendants over an oral agreement to foreclose property, with plaintiffs paying $25,000 under that agreement

Fee Clause Interpretation: Where Pleadings And Testimony Showed That A Brochure With A Fees Clause Applied To Services Different Than The Ones In Dispute, Trial Judge’s Conclusions That The Two Transactions Were Not Integrated Supported A Denial Of Fees

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

The Pleadings And Trial Testimony Supported That Result.                Plaintiff restoration company won a $452,422 jury verdict against defendant apartment owner for water restoration services, then moving to recover $260,215 in attorney’s fees based on a fees clause in a prior brochure involving different apartment turn services which were paid off by apartment owner.  The

Fee Clause Interpretation, Reasonableness Of Fees: Fee Clause Stating Recovery For Third-Party Costs For Collection Encompassed Attorney’s Fees

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

Trial Court Properly Reduced $124,160 Fee Request To $64,750 To Prevailing Party Based On Partial Success, Under A Percentage Of Recovery And A Lodestar Analysis.                Pulse Technology Consulting Group, Inc. v. Skowron & Bunning, LLP, Case No. C098036 (3d Dist. Feb. 11, 2025 partially published; fee discussion published) involved dueling actions about an information

Fee Clause Interpretation: 4/3 DCA Reverses Denial Of Fees To Defendant Because Trial Court Made No Finding Whether Defendant Was A Landlord And A Party To A Lease

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Plaintiffs’ Lawsuit For Various Counts Relating To A One-Year Lease Did Arise Under Broad Language In The Fees Clause.                In S&S Engineering and Construction v. Van Swae, Case No. G062352 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Jan. 13, 2025) (unpublished), a lower court’s order denying a fees motion to a possible landlord under a one-year lease

Appealability, Costs, Fee Clause Interpretation: Lower Court’s Grant Of Expert Fee Costs To Defendant And Denial Of Attorney’s Fees To Defendant Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Appealability, Cases: Costs, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Lack Of Adequate Record Doomed Both Appeals, But They Also Failed On The Merits.                In Paige v. Nolan, Case No. B322162 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Dec. 13, 2024) (unpublished), plaintiff refused a CCP § 998 offer in a legal malpractice case, with defendant attorney winning.  The lower court did award attorney some expert witness

Fee Clause Interpretation, Poof!, Trade Secrets: Defendant Defeating Contractual Damages Claims Not Entitled To Fee Recovery Where Fees Clause Only Applied To Equitable/injunctive Relief Wins

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: POOF!, Cases: Trade Secrets

Results Is That $533,086.19 Fee Award Went POOF! On Appeal.                 The next case is a continuation of a case we earlier posted on, Applied Medical Distribution Corp. v. Jarrells (2024) 100 Cal.App.5th 556, discussed in our March 11, 2024 post.  There, plaintiff obtained preliminary and then later permanent injunctions against defendant in a trade

Fee Clause Interpretation: Tenant Winning Damages Under Municipal Code And Statutory Provisions Properly Awarded Fees Even Though Rental Agreement Precluded Fee Recovery On Contractual Claims

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Statutory Entitlement To Fees Was Independent From Recovery Under A Contractual Fees Clause.                In Dostie v. Marowitz, Case Nos. A168780 et al. (1st Dist., Div. 2 Nov. 22, 22, 2024) (unpublished), plaintiff tenant won $60,000 in damages against defendant former landlord for failure to maintain the premises, gender discrimination, and emotional distress.  Defendant landlord

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