Cases: Lodestar

Lodestar/Multiplier/Reasonableness Of Fees: Second District, Division 4 Unpublished Decision Has Outstanding Discussion Of Lodestar/Multiplier Factors, Limited Success, And Opposing Counsel Fees In Sustaining Lower Court Fee Award In Overtime Employee Cas

Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Multipliers, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  $603,150 Out of Requested $1,512,794.50 Was the Award, With Defense Counsel Getting Paid $1,070,000 by Safeway.      Although unpublished, the Second District, Division 4 has done an outstanding job of analyzing a reasonableness of fee award where both sides (prevailing employee and defending former employers) appealed, with employee arguing the fee award was too

Civil Rights/Lodestar/Multiplier/Substantiation Of Reasonableness Of Fees: 88% Court Ordered Reduction In Civil Rights Fee Request Reversed

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Multipliers, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

  Remanded To Decide If Multiplier Appropriate Upon Reversal of State Claim Giving Rise To Positive Enhancement.      The Ninth Circuit in Chaudhry v. Interfaith Communities United For Justice and Peace, Case No. 11-55820 (9th Cir. May 19, 2014) (published) is an interesting decision involving federal civil rights/attendant state law (CA Civil Code section 52.1)

Lodestar/Laffey Matrix/Substantiation Of Reasonableness Of Fees: $843,245.27 Civil Code Section 1717 Fee Request/Award Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Laffey Matrix, Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

  Successful Defendants Substantiated Hours and Hourly Rate Very Well In This One.      Syers Properties III, Inc. v. Rankin, Case No. A137610 (1st Dist., Div. 2 May 5, 2014) (unpublished) is a case where a $843,245.27 defense fee award under Civil Code section 1717 was challenged on narrow grounds—with plaintiff disputing the reasonableness of

Lodestar/Probate/Section 1717/Substantiation Of Fees: Court Affirms Fee Award On Fiduciary Duty Claims As Arising On Contract, Denies Fee Request Against Trustee Whose Opposition Was Not Frivolous, And Remands Lodestar Calculation

Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Probate, Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

Looks Like Decades Trust Disputes Are Drawing To An End.      Holt v. Denholm, Case Nos. G045496 and G046293 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Apr. 28, 2014) (unpublished)—both authored by Presiding Justice O’Leary–are two appeals involving cross-over probate and Civil Code section 1717 issues in a long-running battle between different sides of a family trust—pitting a

In The News . . . Two Federal Court Of Appeals Decisions Use Different Methods To Fix Attorney’s Fees In Class Actions

Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Multipliers, In The News

  Third Circuit Sustains Using Percentage of Recovery Method, “Cross Checked” By Lodestar Analysis, In Setting Class Action Counsel Fees.      In Dewey v. Volkswagen of America Inc., Case Nos. 13-1123/1124 (3d Cir. Feb. 12, 2014) (not published/not precedential), the Third Circuit Court of Appeals sustained a $9,207,248 attorney’s fees award to class action counsel

Consumer Statutes/Lodestar/Reasonableness Of Fees: Ford’s Oral Opposition To Lemon Law Fee Request Was Unsuccessful As Was Subsequent Appeal

Cases: Consumer Statutes, Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Ford Motor Hit With $50,574.19 Lemon Law Jury Verdict, And Then Hit Again With $342,540.25 In Fees As Well As Costs/Expenses On Top.      Many California consumer statutes, like the lemon laws, have mandatory fee-shifting statutes. Frequently, a winning plaintiff can obtain fee awards that are many times a multiplier of the underlying merits

Civil Rights/Costs/Lodestar: FEHA Winning Plaintiff Entitled To Almost $88,500 In Costs, But Trial Court Utilized Incorrect Lodestar Analysis On Reasonable Hourly Rate And Determining Hours Worked When Awarding $484,687.50 Out Of Requested $1,675,627.50

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Costs, Cases: Lodestar

  Matter Remanded for Re-fixing of Fees Award.      Plaintiff winning a California Family Rights Act, some FEHA, and two common law claims—obtaining a jury verdict of $287,400–moved to recover about $95,000 in routine costs and $1,675,627.50 in fees enhanced by a 2.0 positive multiplier for well over $3 million in requested fees. The trial

Lodestar/Multiplier/Settlement/Reasonableness Of Fees: Plaintiff Recovering $2.25 Million Dependent Abuse Verdict Also Recoups Additional $333,727.56 In Fees And $31,016.22 In Costs

Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Multipliers, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Settlement

  Much Less Awarded Than Requested $1.042-1.390 Million in Fees; Plaintiff Stipulated to Costs Reduction, With Modified Judgment Entered Accordingly.      This case is an interesting illustration of how lower courts will reduce an inflated fee request to calculate a lodestar as well as enforce a “high/low” stipulation that was silent with regard to fees/costs.

Lodestar/Reasonableness Of Fees: Lower Court’s Award Of Civil Code Section 1717 Fees To Winning Defendant Was No Abuse Of Discretion

Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Unpublished Decision Has Nice Review of Lodestar Setting and Appellate Review Principles.      DEI, LLC v. Capital Partners Services Corp., Case No. D062553 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Feb. 13, 2014) (unpublished) is not remarkable for the appellate court’s affirmance of a $134,092.00 attorney’s fees award (out of a requested $153,527.50) to the winning defendant

Class Actions/In The News: New York District Judge Approves $544.8 Million Fee Award In Visa/MasterCard Antitrust Merchant Class Action

Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Multipliers, In The News

  Court Utilizes “Sliding Scale” Percentage of Fund Approach, Checked by Lodestar With Multiplier. The Price?  Priceless.      After approving a settlement producing a $5.7 billion settlement fund in a class action case brought by merchants against Visa, MasterCard, and several banks relating to certain interchange rates, U.S. District Judge John Gleeson then had to

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