Cases: Landlord/Tenant

Landlord/Tenant: 2/4 DCA Affirms Denial Of LARSO Statutory Damages And Attorney Fees To Prevailing Tenant, And Affirms Award To Tenant Of Only $500 In Fees, Out Of The $71,000 Incurred, Pursuant To Amendment Capping Fees In Parties’ Lease

Cases: Landlord/Tenant

Tenant Failed To Assert Claims For Statutory Damages And Fees Under LARSO In The Lawsuit As Required, And The Fees Cap Was Valid.             In 510PacificAve v. Weiss, Case No. B304369 (2d Dist., Div. 4 June 29, 2021) (unpublished), owner of an apartment building in Venice served tenant with notice of a 25% rent increase […]

Landlord/Tenant: Property Caretaker And Listing Agent, After Foreclosure, Were Not Landlords So As To Provide Fee Entitlement Under Civil Code Section 789.3(d)

Cases: Landlord/Tenant

Fee Entitlement Was Not Established Factually.             In Neff v. Boschee, Case No. B302775 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Apr. 20, 2021) (unpublished), former tenants who were ousted after a bank foreclosure sought attorney’s fees against a property caretaker and a listing agent, even though nothing established they were landlords of the property even though they

Fee Clause Interpretation, Landlord/Tenant: $93,913.85 Fee Award In Favor Of Residential Defendant Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Landlord/Tenant

Conversion Claim Arose From The Lease, With Other Arguments Forfeited On Appeal.             Where appellants fail to make arguments at the trial court level or in an appellant’s opening brief, they may be subject to having their challenges forfeited on appeal.  That largely happened in Ghannoum v. Sevier, Case No. B304026 (2d Dist., Div. 2

Landlord/Tenant: 1/4 DCA Affirms $44,736.50 Attorney Fees Award To Landlord For Trial Court And Appellate Work In Enforcing Settlement Agreement With Attorney Fees Provision

Cases: Landlord/Tenant

Tenants Had Waived Their Right To Appeal, And Failed To Support Their Claim That The Settlement Agreement As A Whole Was Unenforceable Due To Violations Of Civ. Code §§ 1942.1 and 1953.             In Park Lane Associates, LP v. Alioto, Case No. A155781 (1st Dist., Div. 4 March 5, 2021) (unpublished), plaintiff landlord and defendant

Appealability, Landlord-Tenant, POOF!: Reversal Of Unlawful Detainer Judgment Against Landlords Required Reversal Of Related Attorney’s Fees/Costs Award

Cases: Appealability, Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: POOF!

In Separate Merits Appeal, Appeal Was Cognizable Although Possession Returned To Landlords During Appeal Because Review Would Determine Landlord Liability For Fees/Costs.             In Lee v. Kotyluk, Case No. G058631 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Jan. 7, 2021) (published), landlords sought to evict a commercial tenant for selling marijuana without a license.  The lower court found

Landlord/Tenant, Section 1717: Fees Award Of $80,411.50 To Prevailing Plaintiff In Commercial Lease Dispute Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: Section 1717

Defendant Failed To Support Its Sole Argument, Raised For The First Time On Appeal, With Evidence, Analysis Or Authority – Thus Waiving Its Only Argument On Appeal – And Its Sole Argument Asked The Appellate Court To Second-Guess The Trial Court’s Evaluation Of The Evidence.             In KJ Investment Group v. American Heritage College, Case

Landlord/Tenant, Prevailing Party, Section 1717: Reversal Of $172,375 In Attorney Fees Awarded To Defendant Based On Trial Court’s Abuse Of Discretion In Finding Defendant Was The Prevailing Party

Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 1717

Pursuant To Section 1717, Defendant Was Not The Prevailing Party As It Lost The Sole Cause Of Action In The Case – With The Jury Awarding $45,050 In Damages To Plaintiff For Defendant’s Breach Of The Written Lease Contract.             Waterwood Enterprises, LLC v. City of Long Beach, Case No. B296830 (2d Dist., Div. 1

Landlord/Tenant, Substantiation Of Reasonableness Of Fees: Landlord Seeking To Overturn $988,539 Attorney Fees Award To Prevailing Commercial Tenants In UD Action Gets Fee Award Reduced By Only $14,125 On Appeal

Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

No Abuse Of Discretion In The Trial Court’s Implied Finding That The Total Time Tenant’s Attorneys Spent Working On The UD Case And Subsequent Appeal Was Reasonable Given The High Stakes Involved In The Litigation.             In NHP/PMB Burbank Medical, etc. v. Premiere Medical, etc., Case No. B299841 (2d Dist., Div. 7 December 14, 2020)

Fee Clause Interpretation, Landlord-Tenant: Landlord Winning Malicious Prosecution Suit Against Former Tenants Was Properly Denied Contractual Fee Recovery

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Landlord/Tenant

Narrow Breadth Of The Lease Fee Shifting Provision Sealed The Result.             The 2/2 DCA in Vaughn v. Darwish, Case Nos. B296693/B305132 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Nov. 12, 2020) (unpublished), did express introductory exasperation about the length of the landlord/tenants’ dispute – going back to 2010, which generated 8 lawsuits, 8 appeals, and 5 writ

Allocation; Landlord/Tenant: $29,490 In Contractual Fees To Married Residential Tenants Prevailing In Unlawful Detainer Action Was No Abuse of Discretion

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Landlord/Tenant

Lack Of Hearing Reporter’s Transcript Hampered Review, But Attorney Efforts Benefitting Joint Tenants, Even If Attorney Only Formally Retained By One Tenant, Was Appropriate.             In Ahdoot v. Chernyavskiy, Case No. B303359 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Nov. 4, 2020) (unpublished), landlord lost an unlawful detainer on summary judgment to two married residents based on a

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