Cases: Landlord/Tenant

Landlord-Tenant, Requests For Admissions: Successful Defendant In Residential Unlawful Detainer Action Properly Awarded Only $10,000 Out Of Requested $70,000

Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: Requests for Admission

  Also, Failure To Itemize Expenses Incurred For RFA Denials Prevented Imposition Of Costs-Of-Proof Sanctions.      The standard of review is critical in appellate matters as well as the development of the record below. Appellant, the successful defendant in a residential unlawful detainer case, found that out in Kennedy v. Morin, Case No. B254871 (2d […]

Landlord/Tenant, Postjudgment Enforcement, Section 998: Two Landlords Do Not Do Well In Fee Proceedings

Cases: Judgment Enforcement, Cases: Landlord/Tenant

  Postjudgment Enforcement—Harris v. Otttovich, Case Nos. A139146 et al. (1st Dist., Div. 5 June 2, 2015) (unpublished).      In this one, former landlords lost a wrongful eviction suit and the lower court awarded tenant $48,000 in postjudgment collection/enforcement fees under CCP § 685.040. Landlords argued that, because there was no contract with a fees

Landlord/Tenant: San Diego Trial Judge Awards $29,212 In Unlawful Detainer Case Even Though Only $13,883 In Rental Damages Awarded

Cases: Landlord/Tenant

  Moving Attorney Did Some Smart Things Here.      Because trial court experiences can provide some good tips, we report on the result of an attorney’s fees motion in a recent San Diego County Superior Court ruling in Five Star Synergy, Inc. v. Light Wireless Communications, LLC.      This was a commercial unlawful detainer case

Section 1717: Defendant Tenant Prevailing On Rent Control Ordinance/Rent Rate Declaratory Relief Claim Entitled To Fee Recovery

Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: Section 1717

  Lower Court Erred In Refusing To Award Fees Under Fees Clause Which Encompassed Landlord’s Declaratory Relief Claim.      Earlier, tenant had won both trial and appellate court victories on the theory that landlord’s substantial rent increase violated local L.A. rent control ordinances, with landlord instigating things primarily through a declaratory relief-oriented action which landlord

Fee Clause Interpretation: Broadly Worded Provision Allowed Fee Recovery To Home Park Tenant Prevailing In Landlord Premises Liability Case

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Landlord/Tenant

    Trial Court’s Denial of Fees Reversed.        Plaintiff was a tenant in a manufactured home park, falling while walking across a common area lawn. Plaintiff brought a premises liability suit against landlord, garnering a $311,899.67 damages award. However, the trial court denied plaintiff’s fee request.      That was reversed on appeal in

Allocation/Employment/Landlord-Tenant/Section 1717: Wild Landlord/Tenant And Minimum Wage Earner Battle Means All Fee Awards Had To Be Reversed

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Employment, Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: Section 1717

  Rental Inhabitability Battles Are Contractual, Giving Rise to 1717 Fee Exposure, While Limited Success On Minimum Wage Mandatory Fee-Shifting Claims Requires Apportionment and Possible Reduction.       This next case is hard to pigeonhole, because it involves cross-over issues in the Landlord/Tenant and Employment post sites. However, Staley v. Carlson, Case No. A133115 (1st Dist.,

Prevailing Party/Section 1717: Landlord And Tenant Denied Relief On Complaint And Cross-Complaint, With Neither Side Entitled To Attorney’s Fees As Section 1717 Prevailing Party

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

  Neither One Obtained Sought-After Litigation Objectives.      When a lower court has discretion to decide who the prevailing party is, unless the facts show otherwise, the abuse of discretion generally applies on appellate review and dictates the result. That is what happened here.      In Barez v. Ni, Case No. H037572 (6th Dist. July

Costs/Landlord-Tenant/Prevailing Party: Tenants In Dismissed Rescission Action Did Win Routine Costs, But Correctly Denied Attorney’s Fees

Cases: Costs, Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: Prevailing Party

       Ron Sheng, Inc. v. Li, Case No. B239682 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Feb. 19, 2013) (unpublished) is a wild landlord-tenant dispute where landlord settled with tenants and tenants won a $200,760 fee award pursuant to an arbitration which was eventually sustained on appeal. However, landlord brought a rescission action claiming that the settlement

Allocation/Landlord-Tenant/Section 1717: No Allocation Of Fees Required Between Contract And Tort Claims Where Claims Are Interrelated

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: Section 1717

  $1.3 Million Fee Award Affirmed; Cassim Did Not Require Allocation in Civil Code Section 1717 Context      Landlord and tenant got involved in a lease dispute resulting in a suit where both dueling contract and tort claims were pitted against each side, with tenant ultimately prevailing by winning $116,859 in lease damages and a

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