Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

Allocation/Reasonableness Of Fees/Section 1717: $125,000 Fee Recovery By Plaintiff On Rescission Claim Was “On The Contract” Under Section 1717

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Section 1717

  However, Fee Recovery Modified to Allow Recovery Against Only Losing Signatory Defendant.      Plaintiff, after losing her investment in a security, sued various parties involved in its sales and packaging, with a jury ultimately awarding her $196,058.33 on fraud, fiduciary duty breach, negligence, and negligent misrepresentation claims. The lower court then awarded $125,000 (out […]

Civil Rights/Reasonableness Of Fees/Section 998: $30,000 Fees And Zero Costs To Plaintiff Accepting 998 Offer In Civil Rights Case No Abuse Of Discretion

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Section 998

Plaintiff Wanted $93,421.50 in Fees and $7,609.19 in Costs.      Arguing that a lower court erred in fixing the amount of a fee award is a tough proposition given that a deferential abuse of discretion review standard applies. Plaintiff learned that all too well in Nickel v. ARB, Inc., Case No. G048500 (4th Dist., Div.

Paralegals/Reasonableness Of Fees/Section 1717: Plaintiffs Not Prevailing On Purchase Deposit Retention Dispute Were Correctly Hit With $1,146,682 In Fee Exposure

Cases: Paralegal Time, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Section 1717

  Fee Clause Was Broad, But Lower Court Correctly Reduced Paralegal Hourly Rates—Finding $330 Per Hour Too High.      Royalty Alliance, Inc. v. Tarsadia Hotels, Case Nos. D062537/D063402 (4th Dist., Div. 1 May 29, 2014) (unpublished) was a case where plaintiffs lost summary judgment motions challenging a developer’s retention of purchase deposits under various theories,

Lodestar/Multiplier/Reasonableness Of Fees: Second District, Division 4 Unpublished Decision Has Outstanding Discussion Of Lodestar/Multiplier Factors, Limited Success, And Opposing Counsel Fees In Sustaining Lower Court Fee Award In Overtime Employee Cas

Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Multipliers, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  $603,150 Out of Requested $1,512,794.50 Was the Award, With Defense Counsel Getting Paid $1,070,000 by Safeway.      Although unpublished, the Second District, Division 4 has done an outstanding job of analyzing a reasonableness of fee award where both sides (prevailing employee and defending former employers) appealed, with employee arguing the fee award was too

Allocation/Reasonableness Of Fees/Section 998/Section 1717: $327,553 Fee Award To Plaintiff Residential Tract Developer, Which Won $126,818.62 At Trial, Sustained Under Broad Contractual Fees Clause

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Section 998

  Section 998 Calculation of Preoffer Fees/Costs Sealed the Result.      Frontier Land Companies v. Jeld-Wen, Inc., Case No. C064351 (3d Dist. May 22, 2014) (unpublished) is a case involving contractual/indemnity claims by plaintiff residential home builder against defendant window/door subcontractor. At trial, plaintiff claimed damages of $245,066.82, but the defense countered damages were at

Allocation/Intellectual Property/Reasonableness Of Fees: Plaintiff Prevailing On Trade Misappropriation Claim To The Tune Of $1,513,400 Also Entitled To Statutory Fees Of $3,297,102.50

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Intellectual Property, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Published Part of Opinion on Fee Issues Focuses on Reasonable Hourly Rates in Court Venue.      Altavion, Inc. v. Konica Minolta Systems Laboratory Inc., Case Nos. A134343/A135831 (1st Dist., Div. 5 May 8, 2014) (partially published; fee discussion on hourly rates published but rest of fee discussion unpublished) dealt with both the merits of

Reasonableness Of Fees: Fees For Collateral Actions And Hourly Rates Sought By Prevailing Party Were Reasonable In Nature

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Discounted Rates of $150-260 in Riverside Were Just Fine.      Defendant promising to sell certain property to a plaintiff governmental entity for $8.42 million, with some environmental contamination holdback provisions, lost a specific performance suit in Riverside County Transportation Commission v. Liston Brick Co. of Corona, Case No. E054980 (4th Dist., Div. 2 Apr.

Allocation/Estoppel/Fee Clause Interpretation/Section 1717/Reasonableness Of Fees: Real Estate Buyer’s Tort Claims Did Not Give Rise To Fee Exposure Under Narrowly-Worded Fees Clause

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

  However, Sellers Were Liable To Third-Party For Losing Their Contractual/Indemnity Claims, Which Were Intertwined And Needed No Apportionment.      Real estate buyer lost tort/statutorily-based nondisclosure claims to the sellers in a dispute where a purchase agreement had a fees clause mandating fees in an action brought “with respect to the subject matter of enforcement

Reasonableness Of Fees: Failure To Provide Specific Challenges In Contentious Litigation Justified Fee Award By Lower Court In Storage Unit Dispute Against In Pro Per Plaintiff

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Fee Entitlement Justified Under Storage Contract “New Customer” Fee Clause.      Unfortunately, this next case—involving an in pro per plaintiff who looks like she was overmatched—still illustrates our Mission Statement that a small dispute, whether won or lost, can still generate fees which eclipse what is involved on the merits—something both litigants and practitioners

Consumer Statutes/Lodestar/Reasonableness Of Fees: Ford’s Oral Opposition To Lemon Law Fee Request Was Unsuccessful As Was Subsequent Appeal

Cases: Consumer Statutes, Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Ford Motor Hit With $50,574.19 Lemon Law Jury Verdict, And Then Hit Again With $342,540.25 In Fees As Well As Costs/Expenses On Top.      Many California consumer statutes, like the lemon laws, have mandatory fee-shifting statutes. Frequently, a winning plaintiff can obtain fee awards that are many times a multiplier of the underlying merits

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