Lower Court Could Not Expunge By Enforcing Settlement In Same Underlying Action. A trial judge in Martinez v. Mayberry, Case No. A142385 (1st Dist., Div. 3 Mar. 24, 2015) (unpublished) expunged some attorney liens in enforcing a settlement agreement upon motion by defense and new plaintiff counsel (counsel other than former plaintiff’s counsel […]
However, Winning Plaintiff Attorney Negotiating Personal Injury Settlement Not Entitled to SLAPP Fee-Shifting Fees or Frivolous Appeal Sanctions. Well, we have an appellate court decision saying fees disputes do not rise to constitutional protected activity under the SLAPP statute. We are not offended, because these usually are more in the nature of private
Trial Judge Did Not Resolve Attorney’s Lien Claim Brought by Estate of Another Deceased Plaintiffs’ Attorneys, So No Prejudice. Marcisz v. Ultrastar Cinemas, Case No. D063902 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Aug. 29, 2014) (unpublished) involved two sets of FEHA attorneys moving to recover fees after successfully prosecuting a sexual harassment for four plaintiffs.
No Enforceable Lien Being Enforced, No Recovery. On July 13, 2014, we did post on an unpublished case which has now been published after rehearing. Mojtahedi v. Vargas, Case No. B248551 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Aug. 8, 2014) (partially published, discussion of attorney’s lien published) involved attorney # 1 in a personal
Gotta Get Attorney’s Lien Adjudicated Against Client First. Mojtahedi v. Vargas, Case No. B248551 (2d Dist., Div. 3 July 9, 2014) (unpublished) is a stark reminder that a discharged attorney in a case seeking to recoup settlement funds against a client cannot just sue the second attorney directly without passing “go”—with “go” being
Lien Not Collusive and Did Not Violate RPC 3-300. We can sympathize with judgment creditors who then find out about a “secret” attorney’s lien which can often trump those other creditors‘ rights without having any notice of the attorney’s lien. The next case illustrates the point very poignantly. Agora Concepts, Inc. v.
If Second Retainer Agreement Signed By Client, Attorneys Lien Did Exist. Majlessi v. Parman, Case No. B241063 (2d Dist., Div. 3 July 12, 2013) (unpublished) is a case where the lower court granted summary judgment across the board when a discharged personal injury attorney sued successor attorneys to honor an attorneys’ lien in
In Fuchs & Associates, Inc. v. Lesso, Case No. B239246 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Jan. 8, 2013) (unpublished), an attorney sought to recover $647,688.13 in fees against a former client through a binding arbitration, fees in addition to what the client already had paid (about $481,000) in dissolution-related proceedings. The arbitrator awarded zilch/nada,
Here are the remaining December 31, 2012 intermediate DCA decisions on fees/costs issues, Liens For Attorneys Fees: Timothy D. Reubon, Inc. v. One West Bank, Case No. B234958 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Dec. 31, 2012) (unpublished) In this one, judgment creditor/former attorney obtained a judgment against judgment debtor/former client for past due services.
Also, Prior Counsel Entitled to Receive $25,000 Holdback Based on His Attorney’s Lien. Henry Shain Professional Corp. v. Bergeron, Case No. A131328 (1st Dist., Div. 5 Mar. 20, 2012) (unpublished) is an interesting case illustrating how two attorneys–prior and successor counsels–did things right as far as perfecting attorney’s liens or drafting retainer agreement
