Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

Landlord/Tenant And Reasonableness Of Fees: Several Tenants Winning Harassment Suit Against Landlord Get Sizable $845,351.25 In Fee Recovery

Cases: Landlord/Tenant, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

    L.A. Municipal Code And Statutory Inhabitability Breach Fee-Shifting Statute Were The Bases.                                                                Above:  Library of Congress.  Snodgrass common household roaches.  Public domain.      In Vaughn v. Darwish, Case No. B252762 (2d Dist., Div. 2 July 6, 2016) (unpublished), tenants won a harassment case against landlord, among other things involving the […]

Employment/Reasonableness Of Fees: Plaintiff Winning About $90,000 In Wage Overtime Case Gains $212,958.50 Fee Recovery

Cases: Employment, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Plaintiff Did Request $526,034.50 Base Fees Plus $60.060 “Fees On Fees.”      The trial judge, after allowing supplemental briefing and carefully weighing lots of fee substantiation, decided to award a winning overtime wage hour plaintiff, who recovered a little short of $90,000 in compensatory damages, attorney’s fees of $212,958.50. However, plaintiff appealed because her

Fee Clause Interpretation, Reasonableness Of Fees, Section 1717: $239K Fee Recovery Under Broad Contractual Fees Clause Sustained, Except For $4.4K Modification Beyond Prevailing Party’s Request Which Was Deleted On Appeal

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Section 1717

  Technical Challenges To Fee Award Did Not Work.     In Vilela v. Rodriguez, Case No. B262442 (2d Dist., Div. 6 June 22, 2016) (unpublished), plaintiff lost a case against various defendants on both torts and a declaratory relief count, with a fees clause in a subscription agreement broadly covering fees “in defending against an

Reasonableness Of Fees 3-Fer: Fee Recovery Sustained In Landlord-Tenant, Family Law, And Appeal/Class Action Cases Based On Waiver, Failure To Provide Adequate Record, And Failure To Beat Abuse Of Discretion Standard On Amounts Awarded

Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Record, Cases: Standard of Review

  Landlord/Tenant:  Sevier v. Ghannoura, Case No. B259542 (2d Dist., Div. 4 Mar. 22, 2016) (Unpublished).     Tenant won compensatory damages of $21,865 against landlords for illegal entry into common areas of a rental apartment without proper notice.  There was a fees clause, requiring mediation as a condition precedent, but tenant satisfied that by requesting

Reasonableness Of Fees/Special Fee Shifting Statute: IDEA Fee Award Of $7,780 Rather Than Requested $66,420 Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

  Rejected Settlement Did Not Justify Post-Settlement Fees, Hourly Rate Reduction Justified, and Prior Consultant Determination Prevented Paralegal Fee Award.      Under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (“IDEA”), attorney’s fees are awardable to prevailing plaintiffs, generally the parents of a child with a disability, in the discretion of the district court. But there

Lodestar/Reasonableness Of Fees: Trial Judge’s 70% Across-The-Board Reduction In All Hours Rather Than Just Flawed Hours Was Arbitrary And “Swept Too Broadly”

Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Fee Award of $59,334.60 Out Of Requested $308,425 Was Too Drastic Based On Using Improper Fee Reduction Methodology.     Haircut.  Marion Post Wolcott, photographer.  Sept. 1938.  Library of Congress.      In the last few months, we posted on some fees cases—most notably Kerkeles (see our December 20, 2015 post)—where appellate courts have reversed decisions

Prevailing Party/Reasonableness Of Fees/Section 1717: $396,031 Fee Award In Contentious Lease Dispute Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Party Awarded Fees Prevailed, Plus Block Billing No Obstacle Where Apportionment Not Required.     In Kern Water Bank Authority v. Grayson Service, Inc., Case Nos. F069806/F070549 (5th Dist. Feb. 3, 2016) (unpublished), litigant in a contentious lease dispute recovered $396,031 out of a requested $566,930.  The Court of Appeal affirmed.  It found that the

Reasonableness Of Fees/Substantiation Of Reasonableness Of Fees: $180,880 Fee Award To Prevailing FEHA Plaintiff Winning $92,500 Affirmed On Appeal

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

  Dueling Appeals Resulted In No Change To Fee Award.      Alvarez v. W&L Harris Ranches, LLC, Case No. C074421 (3d Dist. Dec. 21, 2015) (unpublished) is an interesting case which primarily discusses the level of substantiation needed in a fee proceeding. It reinforces that California state court judges have a lot of discretion in

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