Cases: Prevailing Party

Prevailing Party: Party Obtaining Dismissal For Other Side’s Violation Of Five-Year-to-Trial Rule Does Prevail Under Civil Code Section 1717 For Fee Recovery Purposes

Cases: Prevailing Party

  Decision Is Also a Cautionary Tale on Stipulations to Extend the Five Years To Another Date Certain.      The Third District in City of Stockton v. Central San Joaquin Water Conservation Dist., Case No. C063824 (3d Dist. Jan. 11, 2012) (unpublished) is a situation where litigants stipulated to an extension of the five-year-to-trial limit […]

Prevailing Party POOF!: Reversal of Successful Cross-Complaint Demurrer Ruling Meant Prevailing Party Fee/Costs Awards Went POOF!

Cases: POOF!, Cases: Prevailing Party

  Substantial Awards Were Reversed.      As Justice O’Leary of our local Santa Ana court reminds us, reversal of a successful cross-complaint demurrer ruling (including a ruling on contractual claims) also means that the subsequent prevailing party determination goes POOF! also. The reason is that the contracts are still being litigated, and the prevailing party

Year in Review – 2011

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Estoppel, Cases: Family Law, Cases: Pleading, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Section 998, Year in Review

Wrapping It Up:  M & M’s Top 25 Attorney’s Fees Decisions For 2011  Part 1 of 2      It is that time of year, at year end, for us to list our top published attorney’s fees decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and California Courts of Appeal. Although we normally

Prevailing Party/Section 1717: Landlord Prevailing On Tenants’ Defense Cross-Complaint Involving Personal Property Retrieval Statutes Did Not Prevail “On A Contract” For Section 1717 Purposes

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 1717

  Landlord Lost $23,029.88 Fee Recovery When Fee Award Deleted From Judgment by Appellate Court.      Although originally unpublished, the appellate court in Kumar v. Yu, Case No. B226335 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Nov. 17, 2011) certified its opinion for publication on December 16, 2011.      Basically, landlord lost a contractual lease dispute with a

HOA/Prevailing Party: Failure To Award HOA Fees When Plaintiff Dismissed 8 Of 10 Claims Based On Faulty Reasoning Was Abuse Of Discretion

Cases: Homeowner Associations, Cases: Prevailing Party

  HOA, on Remand, Will Get to Renew Request for $252,767 in Defense Fees.      Here is an interesting one where an appellate court reversed the denial of a fee award as an abuse of discretion. The reason: HOA clearly prevailed when plaintiff dismissed 8 of 10 claims (some of them based on a fee-shifting

Prevailing Party: Remittitur Affirming Merits Of Judgment Conclusively Established Plaintiff As Prevailing Party

Cases: Prevailing Party

  $147,121.25 Fee Award and $5,722.63 Costs Award Affirmed.      In Hawthorne Machinery Co. v. Theo H. Davies & Co., Ltd., Case No. D057331 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Nov. 4, 2011) (unpublished), plaintiff obtained a declaratory relief judgment in favor of defendants, a determination affirmed in a prior appeal with the conclusion that plaintiff prevailed

Prevailing Party: Plaintiff Winning $1 Nominal Damages On One Claim, But Losing The Primary $320,805 Claim, Did Not Prevail Or Prevent Fee Recovery By Opponent

Cases: Prevailing Party

  Opponent’s Fee Award of $40,588 Affirmed On Appeal.      Here is a pragmatic opinion that shows the “prevailing party” determination under Civil Code section 1717 is meant also to be pragmatic as far as the adjudicatory process is concerned. The decision is Brighton Collectibles, Inc. v. S&J Shoes, Inc., Case Nos. B224310/B226866 (2d Dist.,

Prevailing Party/Section 1717: Landlord Prevailed Where It Recovered All Of Monetary Damages Sought And Despite Dismissing Action At Court’s Insistence Later

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 1717

  $83,153 Fee Award Sustained Against Losing Tenant.      Landlord sued tenant for unpaid rent under a prior settlement agreement under which the lease was terminated, tenant would vacate the premises in “turn key” condition, and assign certain FF&E (furniture, fixtures, and equipment) as well as its liquor license. The agreement also specified that landlord

Construction: Prevailing City Retaining Funds Does Not Divest Its Prevailing Party Status Because It Had To Eventually Turnover Retained Funds Over The Amount of the Merits Judgment

Cases: Prevailing Party

  Section 1717 Still Allowed Recovery to the Prevailing Party.      The Fifth District, in Greg Opinski Construction, Inc. v. City of Oakdale, Case Nos. F060219/F060727 (5th Dist. Oct. 6, 2011) (certified for partial publication; fee discussion not published), affirmed a lower court decision finding that the city was entitled to recover from its general

SLAPP: Sloppy Record Scotches Fees, But Appeal Court Synthesizes SLAPP Wisdom

Cases: Appealability, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: SLAPP

Fourth District, Div. 2, Underscores That Compliance With Basic Appellate Procedure Is Necessary to Obtain Review of SLAPP Fees Issue.      The next case, Dean Martin v. Inland Empire Utilities Agency, et al., Case No. E051217 (4th Dist. Div. 2, 8/18/11) (certified for publication), involves a complaint alleging causes of action deriving from purported racial

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