Cases: Prevailing Party

Fee Clause Interpretation, Prevailing Party: Partial and “Mixed” Results By Plaintiffs And Cross-Complainants In Rental Burglary Dispute Supported Trial Court’s Denial Of Contractual Fees To Either Side

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Prevailing Party

  No Clear Winner Emerged In This One.      Where litigants in a case involving both a complaint and cross-complaint win only some claims (but with a broad rental agreement fees clause), the trial judge has discretion to determine whether any side “prevailed” based on a pragmatic inquiry. In Barrera v. Jensen, Case Nos. A136322/A137418 […]

Cases Under Review, Employment, Prevailing Party, Section 998: Employer Accepting 998 $20,000 Offer From Former Employee In Wage/Hour Suit Assessed With $162,434.25 In Fees Under Labor Code Section 1194 Given 998 Offer Was Silent On Fees/Costs

Cases: Cases Under Review, Cases: Employment, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 998

  $202,882.50 In Fees Had Been Requested.      Portugal v. Sewer and Pipeline Contractor, Inc., Case No. B251730 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Mar. 18, 2015) (unpublished) dealt with a former employee suing an employer for minimum wage/overtime compensation violations. Employee served a 998 offer, which did not allocate a $20,000 settlement offer among claims and

Civil Rights, Discovery, Prevailing Party: Disabled Plaintiff Dismissing Suit, Where Defendant Eliminated Architectural Barrier After Filing Suit, Was Properly Not Exposed To Fee Recovery Under California Disabled Persons Act Fee-Shifting Provision

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Discovery, Cases: Prevailing Party

  No One Prevailed in This Case, Both Trial and Appellate Courts Agreed, Under The Facts—But Prior Discovery Sanctions Award Did Survive.      The California Disabled Persons Act (Civ. Code, § 54 et seq.) [DPA] does have a reciprocal fee-shifting provision in favor of a “prevailing party.” (Unlike the American with Disabilities Act [ADA], which

Special Fee Shifting Statute, Prevailing Party: Individual Defendant Having Prior Property In Public Nuisance Case Properly Denied Fees/Costs Recovery

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

  Fee Entitlement Not Present; Normal Routine Prevailing Party Costs Definition Did Not Apply Based On A Pragmatic Inquiry.      In City of Ridgecrest v. Howard, Case No. F068679 (5th Dist. Mar. 5, 2015) (unpublished), defendants were ordered to abate a public nuisance on properties having alleged dilapidated equipment and other items. However, one defendant

Consumer Statutes, Prevailing Party, Private Attorney General: Plaintiff Losing Unfair Competition Law and Consumer Legal Remedies Act Claims Properly Denied Fee Request Of $337,443

Cases: Consumer Statutes, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5)

  Plaintiff Was Not Successful and Defendant Fixed Problem Based on CLRA Pre-Suit Notice.      In Boling v. DTG Operations, Inc., Case No. G049360 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Mar. 2, 2015) (unpublished), plaintiff sued under the Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) to recover damages for a small discrepancy between a

Prevailing Party, Section 1717: Fee Clause Language Allowing Isolated Fee Recovery On Appellate Win Is Trumped By Section 1717’s Overall Prevailing Party Mandate

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 1717

  Sixth District Rejects Notion that CCP § 1021 Prevails Over Civil Code § 1717.      This next case is interesting given that we have posted on some California unpublished decisions suggesting that fee entitlement is not at issue in Civil Code section 1717, with the provision only governing fairness and treatment of unilateral fee

Prevailing Party, Special Fee Shifting Statute: Reversal Of Statutory Violation Award Under Health & Safety Code Statute Meant Attorney’s Fees Award Had To Be Revisited

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

  Degree of Success Was Key, Where Plaintiff Went From Obtaining $270,000 To Only $500.      Lemaire v. Covenant Care California, LLC, Case No. B248672 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Feb. 23, 2015) (published) is a situation where plaintiff won $270,000 in statutory damages for the defense failure to maintain complete and accurate medical records at

Intellectual Property, Prevailing Party: $1,518,687.94 In Fees Against Three Losing Defendants Justified In Lanham Act False Endorsement Case Involving Bob Marley’s Image

Cases: Intellectual Property, Cases: Prevailing Party

  Base Award Against Prevailing Plaintiffs Was $648,543.00.      The Ninth Circuit in Fifty-Six Hope Road Music, Ltd. v. A.V.E.L.A., Inc., Case No. 12-17502 (9th Cir. Feb. 20, 2015) (published) affirmed, in a 2-1 decision, the merits of compensatory/lost profit awards against five defendants in a Lanham Act false endorsement suit brought by two plaintiffs

Consumer Statutes, Costs, Prevailing Party, Section 998: Car Plaintiff In Song-Beverly/Magnuson-Moss Dispute Properly Denied Fees But Entitled To Costs

Cases: Consumer Statutes, Cases: Costs, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 998

  Car Manufacturer Defendant Prevailed For Fees, But Might Be Liable For Some Routine Costs.      Actually, we can say that counsel for Mercedes-Benz in this case made some good moves as far as mitigating fee/costs exposure. M-B was embroiled in a gripe from a car owner about excessive multiple repairs. Car owner sued, but

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