Cases: Landlord/Tenant

Landlord/Tenant: Attorney Fees/Costs Award Of $895,163.42 In Favor Of Prevailing Landlord Affirmed, But $585,383.61 Damages Award Remanded For A Reduced Calculation

Cases: Landlord/Tenant

Despite Remand For A Recalculation Of Damages, The Fees/Costs Award Was Not So Disproportionate To The Value Of The Legal Services Provided So As To Equate To An Abuse Of Discretion.             In Alchemy Communications v. Carlsberg Lax Center, Case No. B278068 (2d Dist., Div. 1 December 3, 2019) (unpublished), commercial Landlord and one

Landlord/Tenant: Reversal Of Tenant’s Civil Harassment Restraining Order In Landlord/Tenant Dispute Did Not Require Fee Award In Landlord’s Favor

Cases: Landlord/Tenant

Trial Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion In Denying Fees Under CCP § 527.6(s).             In Ewing v. Greenlee, Case No. A155828 (1st Dist., Div. 3 Aug. 30, 2019) (unpublished), a trial judge denied a discretionary request for a $15,000 attorney’s fees award by the prevailing party in a civil harassment.  Code of Civil Procedure

Fee Clause Interpretation, Landlord/Tenant: Guarantor Limitation Of Liability Provision Did Not Limit Fee Recovery

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Landlord/Tenant

Guaranty Limitation Applied Only To Damages, Not To Attorney’s Fees Which Are Costs Instead.             In Valencia Gateway Retail IV, LLC v. Woltman, Case No. B288726 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Aug. 20, 2019) (unpublished), two defendant guarantors of a breached lease argued that a guaranty liability limitation—“equal to six months’ charges due under the lease”

Section 998: When Offeree Beats First Offer, Court Refuses To Freeze Offeree’s Costs At Time Of First Offer When Offeror Makes Second Offer

Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: Section 998

Court Could Not Find Case On Point,  So It Was Guided By Statutory Purpose Of Section 998.         In Hersey v. Vopava, B287896 (2nd Dist. Div. 8 Aug. 14, 2019) (Stratton, Grimes, Wiley), the Court holds, "where an offeree achieves a judgment more favorable than a first offer, the determination of whether an offeree obtained

Landlord/Tenant, Section 998, Special Fee Shifting Statute: In Two Related Opinions, 1/2 DCA Explores San Francisco Eviction Ordinance Fee-Shifting Provision, Determining Owners Were Properly Awarded Attorney’s Fees Against Two Tenants

Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: Section 998, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

In One Case, Section 998 Offer Was Not Beat Even Though Two Plaintiff Tenants Did Get Positive Damages Under The San Francisco Residential Rent Stabilization And Arbitration Ordinance.             The 1/2 DCA in two opinions, Pitre v. Lam and Wong, Case No. A151061 (1st Dist., Div. 2 Aug. 7, 2019) (unpublished) and Randt v. Lam,

Landlord-Tenant, Reasonableness Of Fees, Section 1717: $428,175 Fee Award To Winning Landlord In Tort Condo Damages/Fraud Case Against Tenants Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Section 1717

Residential Security Deposit Scheme Did Not Preempt Tort Fee Award; But Landlord Correctly Reduced Landlord’s Fee Request Of $659,367.56 For Various Reasons             Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Weingart, sitting by assignment on the 2/1 DCA, has penned a nice decision in Sweeney v. Scully, Case No. B284915 (2d Dist., Div. 1 June 27,

Landlord/Tenant: $2,503,141 Fee Award To San Francisco Under Rent Ordinance And Health & Safety Fee Provisions Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Landlord/Tenant

Fee Entitlement Bases Existed, And Amount Of Fee Award Was Not Erroneous.             Health and Safety Code section 17980.7(b)(1) has a mandatory fees and actual costs provision to be applied for State Housing Law violations where the lower court finds a building substantially endangers residents’ health and safety.  San Francisco has a Rent Ordinance (Adm.

Fees as Damages, Landlord/Tenant, Poof!: After Punitive Damages Reduction Of Almost $56 Million, Plaintiffs Walk Away With Judgment Of More Than $5 Million, But Watch It All Go POOF! On Appeal

Cases: Fees as Damages, Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: POOF!

No Segregation Between Properly And Erroneously Awarded Amounts Meant Plaintiffs Lost The Full Amounts Of Their Awards For Compensatory Damages Of $1,289,000, Punitive Damages Of $1,289,000, Attorney Fees Of $2,385,773.70 and Costs Of $56,417.72         In Bevis v. Terrace View Partners, LP, Case No. D071849, (4th Dist., Div. 1 February 28, 2019) (unpublished), sixty-nine current

Landlord/Tenant, Section 998, POOF!: Landlord And Tenant, In Lengthy Litigation Over Personal Property In A Westlake Village Luxury Home, Lose Both Their Attorney’s Fees Awards On Appeal

Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: POOF!, Cases: Section 998

After Ten Years Of Litigation, Tenant Only Received A $56,000 Net Recovery—Not Exactly A Win When All Of The Attorney Efforts Are Considered!             Christie v. Ridge, Case No. B259189 (2d Dist., Div. 6 February 6, 2019) (unpublished), although unpublished, is a nice reminder of how costly litigation is and how both litigants winning attorney’s

Consumer Statutes, Landlord-Tenant, Section 1717: Tenant Prevailing On Common Law Residential Inhabitability Claim Limited To Contractually-Capped Fees Of $1,600

Cases: Consumer Statutes, Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: Section 1717

Although More Fees Potentially Allowable Under Statutory Inhabitability Claim, Jury Did Not Base Its Verdict On The Statute Such That Contractually Capped Amount Was The Proper Award.             This next case involves an intersection between the parties’ contractually capped fee recovery under lease agreements and potentially more expansive damages under a statute allowing recovery for

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