Cases: Prevailing Party

Allocation/Fee Clause Interpretation/Prevailing Party: Broadly-Worded Fees Clause Allowed For Recovery Of Fees On Noncontract Claims Following Voluntary Dismissal In Wake Of Pleading Motions

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Prevailing Party

  Fee Motion Properly Filed and No Allocation Between Claims Required.      Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed its contract-based/tortious interference case against one defendant without prejudice in the wake of pending pleading motions, with the trial court determining that fully requested fees of $16,926 were due to prevailing defendant.      Plaintiff’s multi-pronged attack in Oxnard Corner, LLC […]

Allocation/Costs/Prevailing Party: Wine Cellar Gets Hit With $28,659.50 Contract Damages Plus Prejudgment Interest PLUS $36,061.50 In Contractual Attorney’s Fees

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Costs, Cases: Prevailing Party

  Plaintiff Got Unqualified Win, With No Apportionment Needed; Two Winning Defendants Failed To Timely File For Costs.      This case stirred our curiosity, because it involves Veris Cellars, which appears to be a very nice winery located in the Paso Robles area in San Luis Obispo County. However, no matter who the litigant, beware

Prevailing Party/Sanctions/Special Fee Shifting Statute: U.S. District Judge England Denies Clean Water Act Attorney’s Fees To Defendant After Plaintiffs Voluntarily Dismissed Citizsens Suit Due To High Ongoing Litigation Costs

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Sanctions, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

  District Court Also Denied Plaintiff’s Requests for Sanctions After Defendant Withdrew Rule 11 Motion After Grant of Voluntary Dismissal; Reasons For Both — No Prevailing Party.      The Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1365, allows citizen suits and has a fee-shifting clause which allows a district court, in its discretion, to award litigation

Family Law/Prevailing Party: Adoption Facilitator Defendants Obtaining Order Compelling Arbitration And Eventual Voluntary Dismissal Of Suit Were Prevailing Parties Entitled To Fee Recovery

Cases: Family Law, Cases: Prevailing Party

  Basis for Fee Recovery Was Family Code Section 8638(c).      In Bates v. Kors, Case No. D063123 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Nov. 27, 2013) (unpublished), registered adoption facilitator defendants obtained a statutory fee award of $14,760 against plaintiffs, parents attempting to adopt a surrogate baby, under Family Code section 8638(c). Section 8638(c) allows a

Prevailing Party: Confusing Fee Recoveries By Multiple Parties On Multiple Contracts Requires Reversal, Affirmance, And Remand

Cases: POOF!, Cases: Prevailing Party

  Some Fee Recoveries Went POOF, Some Stayed, and Some Will Be Re-Done.      Kirk v. Dimitri, Case No. D058758 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Nov. 13, 2013) (unpublished) was a multi-party case arising from a failed residential real estate venture in Fallbrook. Ultimately, a jury and then a court in an equitable trial entered various

Cases Under Review/Prevailing Party/Section 1717: Kandy Kiss Case Under Review

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 1717

  Briefing Looks Completed; Issue Is Whether Procedural Victory Based on Federal Exclusive Jurisdiction Entitles Litigant to Prevailing Party Status Under Civil Code Section 1717.      On both September 22, 2012 and December 27, 2012, we posted on Kandy Kiss of California, Inc. v. Tex-Ellent, Inc., a Second District decision affirming an award of attorney’s

Prevailing Party/SLAPP: Party Partially Winning Appeal Merits, But Not Winning Fee Award Cross-Appeal Was Not Entitled To Fee Recovery

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: SLAPP

  Appellate Court Followed Maughan’s “Bright Line” Test on Appeal.      In this one, the appellate court had to review whether a party truly prevailed on appeal in a prior appellate proceeding involving a SLAPP determination. The lower court said the party did, but the appellate court reversed.      White and Yellow Cab, Inc. v.

Costs/Prevailing Party: Lower Court Did Not Abuse Discretion In Denying Dismissed Defendant Costs When Dismissal Expressly Predicated On Each Side Bearing Own Fees/Costs

Cases: Costs, Cases: Prevailing Party

  Be Careful in Saying “Thank You.”      HPSC, Inc. v. Tiffany, Case No. D061142 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Aug. 19, 2013) (unpublished) is a situation where one defendant was dismissed upon an oral motion after a summary judgment argument, with the court expressly indicating the defendant was dismissed upon the condition that both sides

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

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