Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Deed Of Trust/Fee Clause Interpretation: Where Junior Lienholder Paid Off And Extinguished Senior Secured Debt, Senior Lender Prevailing In Post-Payoff Action Not Entitled To Recoup Attorney’s Fees

Cases: Deeds of Trust, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

  DOT Fee Provision Was Specific, Not Allowing For Fee Recovery Under The Circumstances.      The next case should be of interest to real estate secured lender attorneys, counseling on what they may need to do in certain payoff/junior lienholder foreclosure situations. It also may counsel some changes to the standard deed of trust instruments […]

Fee Clause Interpretation, Reasonableness Of Fees, Section 1717: $239K Fee Recovery Under Broad Contractual Fees Clause Sustained, Except For $4.4K Modification Beyond Prevailing Party’s Request Which Was Deleted On Appeal

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Section 1717

  Technical Challenges To Fee Award Did Not Work.     In Vilela v. Rodriguez, Case No. B262442 (2d Dist., Div. 6 June 22, 2016) (unpublished), plaintiff lost a case against various defendants on both torts and a declaratory relief count, with a fees clause in a subscription agreement broadly covering fees “in defending against an

Fee Clause Interpretation/Section 1717: $16,880 Fee Recovery Under Lease Dispute Reversed Because Tortious Fraud Was Not “On The Contract”

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Section 1717

  Neither Section 1717 Nor CCP § 1021 Permitted Fee Recovery.       In Ruballos v. Ruballos, Case No. B268343 (2d Dist., Div. 8 May 26, 2016) (unpublished), a lease non-signatory prevailed in a nasty lease dispute, based on a fraud-based controversy.  The lower court awarded $16,880 in attorney’s fees based on a contractual fees clause.

Deed Of Trust, Fee Clause Interpretation, POOF!: One Action Rule Barred Award Of Attorney’s Fees To Lender Based On Wording In Trust Deed Fees Clause

Cases: Deeds of Trust, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: POOF!

  Result Was That Trial Court’s Award Of $175,000 In Fees Went POOF!      The lender in HSBC Bank, USA v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Case No. B266405 (2d Dist., Div. 6 May 16, 2016) (unpublished) likely was surprised by the result in this case, but it also shows you how powerful the one action

Fee Clause Interpretation, Prevailing Party, Section 1717: Another Reversal Of Fortune—Rehearing Granted Where Prevailing Plaintiff Now Gets Return Of $4.2 Million Fee Recovery

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 1717

  Earlier, The Fee Recovery Went POOF!, But Restored After A Rehearing.   President Grant at his cottage by the sea.  c1872.  Library of Congress.     We have posted before in our February 21, 2016 post on U.S. Grant Hotel Ventures, LLC v. American Property Management Corp., a Fourth District, Division 1 appeal where each

Allocation/Fee Clause Interpretation: Losing Plaintiff In Integrated Contractual Relationship With Broad Fees Clause Rightly Hit With Contractual Fee Exposure

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

  Allocation Between Defendants Was Not Necessary Where The Work Was Intertwined.      In Fleming v. Peloquin, Case No. E063069 (4th Dist., Div. 2 May 6, 2016) (unpublished), plaintiff investor in an LLC venture gone bad sued other parties who were either members or parties with involvement pursuant to both an Operating Agreement (where there

Fee Clause Interpretation/POOF!/Prevailing Party: Remand To Clarify Damages Awarded To Nonprevailing Plaintiff Real Estate Buyers Meant Substantial Fee Award To Prevailing Real Estate Seller Needed To Be Revisited On Remand

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: POOF!, Cases: Prevailing Party

  Award of Over $477,000 in Fees/Costs Went POOF!      In Fong v. Sheridan, Case Nos. A144286/A14522 (1st Dist., Div. 1 Apr. 21, 2016) (unpublished), buyers of seaside property sued seller and a dual broker agent for breach of contract, intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, and rescission after dual agent told buyers at a pre-sale stage

Fee Clause Interpretation/Section 1717: Seller Prevailing Under Purchase/Sale Agreement Fee Clause Entitled To $95,707 Fee Recovery Plus Some Routine Costs

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Section 1717

  Multiple Challenges By Losing Buyer Rejected By 2/6 DCA.      Real estate seller in Weinstock Porter Development, LLC v. Teixeira Farms, Inc., Case No. B253455 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Apr. 25, 2016) (unpublished) defeated buyer’s rescission claim based on environmental contamination where the record showed the parties entered into a release of claims because

Fee Clause Interpretation: Narrow Contractual Fees Clause Did Not Cover Tort And Subrogation Claims, Which Did Not Arise Under Contract With Fees Clause

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Nonsignatories

  Negligence And Subrogation Claims Did Not Give Prevailing Cross-Defendant Bank Entitlement To Fee Recovery.     Under our category “Fee Clause Interpretation,” we have surveyed many decisions which really demonstrate that the wording of a fees clause actually determines if fee recovery is possible for tort clams or possible against losing contractual non-signatories.  The Fifth

Allocation/Fee Clause Interpretation: $340,000 Fee Award To Former Attorney Who Became Operating Agreement LLC Member Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

  Operating Agreement Fees Clause Was Broad, And No Allocation Needed With Respect To Time Spent On A Nominal Defendant.      This next case is very factually interesting in nature. In essence, the underlying dispute involved an attorney and clients having some claim to $12 million in California State Lottery winnings by a decedent. Attorney

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