Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Fee Clause Interpretation: Later Independent Contractor Agreement Did Not Extinguish Fee Clause In Earlier Purchase Agreement

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Fifth District Finds No Novation Under the Circumstances.      Here is a contractual interpretation/novation case that presents a set of circumstances we have not reported on to date.      In Miller v. London Properties, Case No. F059259 (5th Dist. Jan. 13, 2011) (unpublished), defendant brokers prevailed in a contractual dispute with plaintiffs over their purchase […]

Fee Clause Interpretation: Broadly Worded Fee Clause Relating To Any Initiated Litigation In Connection With Obstruction Justified Substantial Fee Award Against Losing Party

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

  Second District, Division 6 Affirms $210,697.50 Fee Award.      Judges, as much as anyone, do try to be pragmatic in awarding fees, which are frequently based on equitable considerations. Here is one illustrating that principle, even though the breadth of the fees clause and intertwinement of issues well supported the result legally.      In

Fee Clause Interpretation: Mutual Consent To Contract With Fees Clause Enough–No Legal Requirement To Sign A Contract With The Clause

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Second District, Division Reverses Trial Court’s Decision to Not Entertain Fee Request on the Merits.      In C-1 Construction v. Choi, Case No. B217012 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Dec. 3, 2010) (unpublished), C-1 obtain a compensatory award from defendants based on claims it was not allowed to finish certain construction work agreed to under an

Civil Code Section 1717/Fees Clause Interpretation: $33,500 Fee Affirmed Under Reciprocity Principles

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Section 1717

Settlement Agreement Fees Clause Was Broad, Making Blickman Inapt.      The breadth of a fees clause will often determine whether Civil Code section 1717 reciprocity principles apply. For example, very narrow clauses were found not to give rise to reciprocity in Blickman Turkus, L.P. v. MF Downtown Sunnyvalle, LLC, 162 Cal.App.4th 858 (2008) and Real

Fee Clause Interpretation: General Partner Properly Awarded Fees Under Broadly Worded Partnership Fees Clause

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

$15,286 Fee Award Affirmed Against Limited Partners Joining Unsuccessful Petition to Wind Up Partnership.      When a contractual fees clause covers “any dispute,” such broad language usually gives rise to fee entitlement. It did in the next case we look at.      In LaRocca v Briasco, Case No. B217071 (2d Dist., Div. 8 Oct. 14,

Mediation: Third District Decides That "Mediation Condition Precedent" Clause In Real Estate Contract Only Applies To Party Commencing An Action

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Mediation

It Does Not Apply to Someone Simply Defending An Action.      In our category "Mediation," we have explored many decisions entertaining the issue of when attorney’s fees are properly awarded under California real estate purchase agreements with attorney’s fees clauses mandating mediation as a condition precedent to fee recovery. Here is another decision on the

Fees Clause Interpretation: Fourth District, Division 3 Adopts Contextual Interpretation of Fees Clause

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Appellate Court Strikes Attorney’s Fees Award of $9,350 in Favor of Plaintiff.      In Legal Service Bureau, Inc. v. Mostafavi, Case No. G041804 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Oct. 4, 2010) (unpublished), our local Santa Ana appellate court dealt with a lower court judgment awarding $9,350 to plaintiff under an attorney’s fees clause of an agreement

Section 1717: Simply Worded Fees Clause Broad Enough To Invoke Reciprocity Principle of Civil Code Section 1717

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Section 1717

Second District, Division 1 Affirms and Remands to Award Fees on Appeal.      Levaton v. Levaton, Case No. B213730 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Sept. 24, 2010) (unpublished) involved a family real estate deal gone bust, with the trial court ultimately awarding one side rescission. An initial appeal affirmed most of the judgment, but remanded to

Deadlines And Fee Clause Interpretation: Second District, Division 6 Affirms $121,000 Fee/Cost Award In Neighborhood Mega-Squabble

Cases: Deadlines, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

  Fee Motion Found Timely and Declaratory Relief Action Was “On the Contract” for Purposes of Justifying the Award.      We knew that this next case was going to be a crazy one, when Acting Presiding Justice Yegan wrote, “Within a year or so, [the] relationship [between neighbors] had deteriorated from a warm friendship to

Fee Clause Interpretation: $278,323 Fee Award Remanded For Failure To Determine If Narrow Fee Clause Truly Covered Certain Pled Claims

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Tort Claims Were Not Covered, Others Were, and Some Needed to be Revisited.      The Sixth District, in a scholarly unpublished 3-0 opinion authored by Acting Presiding Justice Bamattre-Manoukian, has a very thoughtful discussion of the breadth of a fees clause in a promissory note when plaintiffs prevailed on professional negligence and vendor’s lien claims,

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