Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

Reasonableness Of Fees: Virginia-Based Courts Offer Laffey Matrix Adjustment Alternative And Tweaks To Calculating Fees Based On Degree Of Success

Cases: Laffey Matrix, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Given California’s More Liberal Approaches, These Alternatives Might Offer Guidance.      California endows trial judges with quite a bit of discretion when fixing the reasonableness of fees in a fee petition proceeding. Hourly rates can be pegged based on attorney declarations, surveys, matrices, and the like. Lodestar adjustments, upward or downward, are based on […]

Reasonableness Of Fees/Special Fee-Shifting Statute: Defendant Losing Financial Elder Abuse Case Exposed To Fees Award

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

  $700,000 Was Fee Award, With Appellate Court Sustaining $686,500 Of It In Conceded Reductions.      Defendant in Kalfin v. Kalfin, Case No. G047275 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Oct. 15, 2013) (unpublished) was hit with a $1.4 million compensatory and $260,000 punitive damages award on causes of action for contractual breach and financial abuse in

Reasonableness Of Fees: $141,080 Fees For Plaintiff’s Attorneys Winning Labor Code Violations Sustained On Appeal

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Compensatory Award to Plaintiff Was A Little Over $56,000.      Just to be sure, plaintiffs winning certain Labor Code violations, even if the compensatory damages are small, can win exponentially greater attorney’s fees awards under plaintiff-friendly fee shifting statutes.      That occurred in Quiroz v. Emergency University, Case No. A137595 (1st Dist., Div. 2

Class Actions/Costs/Multiplier/Reasonableness Of Fees: Plaintiffs Winning Vacation Pay Labor Code Class Action Also Garner Costs Of $145,341.93 And Attorney’s Fees Of $5,722,008

Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Costs, Cases: Multipliers, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  2.0 Multiplier Enhancement Was Justified.      In Molina v. Lexmark International, Inc., Case Nos. B227746 et al. (2d Dist., Div. 2 Sept. 19, 2013) (unpublished), an employer suffered a $7,777,620 adverse amended judgment in a class action involving employer’s vacation policy violations of Labor Code section 227.3. The lower court also awarded plaintiffs $145,341.93

Lodestar/Reasonableness Of Fees: Landlord, Prevailing Party After Prior Appellate Reversal, Got Pretrial/Trial Work Reduced Based On Its Own Criticism Of Lessees’ Lodestar Request When They Were The Earlier Prevailing Parties Prior To Reversal

Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  “Be Careful What You Ask For” Is the Theme Here, Despite a Reversal of Fortune.      Image 2000 Multimedia, Inc. v. Quinn, Case No. D061776 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Sept. 16, 2013) (unpublished) is a classic example of “be careful for what you ask for” during the case where there is a sudden reversal

Civil Rights/Reasonableness Of Fees: Ninth Circuit Reverses $473,138.24 Fee Award To Civil Rights Winners In Settlement Where $500,000 Was Stipulated Damages Figure

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  District Judge Must Explain Cuts With Specificity, Showing Math With Transparency And Not Capping Based on Compensatory Damages Amount.      Gonzalez v. City of Maywood, Case No. 11-56594 (9th Cir. Sept. 9, 2013) (for publication) is must reading for civil rights practitioners filling fee petitions. However, it also has valuable lessons for attorneys involved

Civil Rights/Reasonableness Of Fees: FEHA Winning $1 In Damages Won $349,313.74 In Attorney’s Fees And $11,952.94 Under FEHA Fee-Shifting Statute

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Appellate Court Found Trial Court Did Not Abuse Discretion in Awarding Fee Award 600 Times the Damages Award.      Government Code section 12965(b) is a special fee-shifting provision which especially allows attorney’s fees and costs to be awarded to winning FEHA plaintiffs. Strict proportionality is not necessary between damages and fees awarded, with the

Civil Rights/Reasonableness Of Fees: $109,977 Fee Award To Civil Rights Plaintiff Winning About $18,000 Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  20% of Requested $549,885 Deemed Fair By Both Trial and Appellate Courts.      Although strict proportionality of fees is not the governing standard for awards to winning civil rights plaintiffs, the lack of success and inflated fee requests are important “checks” which can result in a greatly reduced fees award.      That is what

Probate/Reasonableness Of Fees: 38% Reduction In Requested Lodestar Fee Request For Attorneys In Short Conservatorship Was No Abuse Of Discretion

Cases: Probate, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Record Supported Probate Court’s Reduction, With That Award Being 25% Higher Than Probate Examiner Recommendation.      Attorneys rendering services to a conservator can seek compensation from the court under Probate Code section 2640, with the ultimate fixing of the fee award residing in the discretion of the probate court.      In Conservatorship of Rawls,

Class Action/Paralegal Time/Sanctions: Court Of Appeal Affirms $176,900 Discovery Monetary Sanctions Against One Class Action Counsel, Sustains Awarding The Same Counsel No Fees Based On Tarnished Credibility

Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Paralegal Time, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Sanctions

  Also Sustains Awarding $176,900 To Same Counsel’s Staff For Work Effort, And Remands For Consideration Of Costs Request Appellate Court Finds that Paralegals Do Not Necessarily Have to Meet California B&P Educational/Certification Requirements in Order to Obtain Compensation.      This next case, Ellis v. Toshiba America Information System, Inc. (Sklar), Case Nos. B220286/B227078 (2d

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