Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

Deadlines, Fee Clause Interpretation, Reasonableness Of Fees:  $210,000 Contractual Fees Award Affirmed On Appeal In Contentious Foreclosure/Eviction Case  

Cases: Deadlines, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Technical Challenges Are Rejected At Appellate Level.             In Coastline RE Holdings Corp. v. Brillouet, Case No. B282382 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Aug. 24, 2017) (unpublished), owners/residential borrowers had their house foreclosed (after quitclaiming the property to various entities and filing bankruptcies which were dismissed) and then lost an eviction action by the buyer […]

Employment, Indemnity, Reasonableness Of Fees, Requests For Admissions: Four Unpublished Decisions On July 11, 2017 Highlight These Issues

Cases: Employment, Cases: Indemnity, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Requests for Admission

Fee Reasonableness—Neman Real Estate Investments, LLC v. Oken. Case Nos. B263196/B263718 (2d Dist., Div. 4 July 11, 2017) (unpublished).             In this first one, defendants won a commercial property dispute and were awarded costs/fees of $619,566.75 based on a “blended” $495 hourly rate to L.A. real estate litigators that happened to be “below market.”  The

Prevailing Party/Reasonableness Of Fees: Only One Prevailing Party Can Be The Result In Contractual Dispute Involving Defensive Cross-Complaint

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Defendant Defeating Plaintiff’s Contractual Claims Was Sole Prevailing Party, Reversing Fee Award To Cross-Defendant Prevailing On Usury Claim.           In Kelly v. Mayer, Case No. D071080 (4th Dist., Div. 1 June 23, 2017) (unpublished), plaintiff sued on a note and defendant defensively cross-claimed primarily upon fraud and usury grounds. After a 25-day jury trial,

Reasonableness Of Fees:  FEHA Prevailing Plaintiff, Through Settlement Garnering $75,000, Properly Awarded Only $76,900 In Fees

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

    Plaintiff Sought Over $620,000—Deemed Too Exorbitant.             Although we know that generally FEHA fees are mandatory to a prevailing party, the rub is always on the amount of fees to be awarded.  In Jain v. RJHT Compuquest, Inc., Case No. B271935 (2d Dist., Div. 4 May 19, 2017) (unpublished), a FEHA plaintiff settling

Multipliers/Reasonableness Of Fees:  $2.5 Million Fee Award To Class Counsel Was No Abuse Of Discretion

Cases: Multipliers, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

    Class Counsel Appealed, But To No Avail Except On Two Minor Issues.               Woosley v. State of California, Case No. B261454 (2d Dist., Div. 5 April 24, 2017) (unpublished) was a dispute which spanned close to 40 years, with the parties then hassling over attorney’s fees over the last dozen years.  (Kinda

Family Law/Reasonableness Of Fees: Trial Judge Awarding Only $15,000 In Fees And Costs Based On Requested $77,067.50 In Fees And $17,459.77 In Costs Was No Abuse Of Discretion

Cases: Family Law, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Deferential Standard Of Review Not Hurdled In This One.     In Zauner v. Defterios, Case No. B271922 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Mar. 21, 2017) (unpublished), appellant sought needs-based fees in a child custody modification proceeding. She requested $77,067.50 in fees and $17,459.77 in costs, but was only awarded $10,000 in fees and $5,000 in costs.

Reasonableness Of Fees: Plaintiff In Pro Per Attorney Failing To Prevail In Multi-Year Litigation With Bank Was Properly Assessed With $744,204.50 Of Bank’s Legal Fees

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Bank Had Requested To Recoup $1.3 Million In Fees.     Plaintiff in pro per attorney sued a well-known bank for breach of contract in connection with servicing his home mortgage.  Bank obtained a summary judgment on some claims and lost a remaining claim at trial after more than 11 years of litigation.  The trial

Reasonableness Of Fees/Substantiation Of Fees: Appellate Court Reversed Denial Of Fees In Private Attorney General Case Where Only One Of Four Counsel Compensated

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

  Appellate Court Felt Denial Of Compensation To Successful Appellate Counsel Was Not Fair, But Opinion Has Further Far-Reaching Consequences As Far As What Type of Fee Substantiation Suffices.       The abuse of discretion standard on fees award is difficult to surmount. However, it may not be such a tremendous hurdle if the rights facts

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