Keeping Things In Proportion . . . Just to stress that proportionality is not necessarily the key for winning FEHA plaintiffs, see the result in Young v. Mountain Empire Unified School Dist., Case No. D061228 (4th Dist., Div. 1 July 15, 2013) (unpublished). What is? Answer: probably justice, in the eyes of the […]
Hourly Rates by Defense Were Reasonable; No Apportionment Required. Plaintiff, a former employee, sued defendant former employer for unpaid commissions, vacation time, and unreimbursed expenses, requesting an award of attorney’s fees upon prevailing under Labor Code sections 218.5 and 218.6 (wage/hour fee-shifting provisions). Plaintiff brought four causes of action, one of which was
Simply Saying Fees “Excessive” Was Not Enough. In Barnard v. Theobald, Case No. 11-16625 (9th Cir. July 1, 2013) (for publication), the Ninth Circuit affirmed an excessive police force jury verdict against defendants. However, it vacated a district judge’s decision to reduce requested attorney’s fees under the federal civil rights statute (42 U.S.C.
Defense Has No Obligation to Produce Its Fees Expended Absent a Proper Discovery Request, Appellate Court Rules. McElroy v. City of San Diego, Case No. D059562 (4th Dist., Div. 1 May 30, 2013) (unpublished) is a “meaty” decision on a lot of cross-over attorney’s fees issues. So let us begin. The underlying
"Alex," prize German police dog and pet of Miss Ailsa Mellon, daughter of Treas. smokes cigarettes n’everything. Alex’s father is the $12,000 prize police dog "Wolfe". 1924. Library of Congress. In our April 27, 2013 post, we explored Tobacco I, an April 23 unpublished decision out of the Fourth District, Division 1 dealing with
In a recent post on its Attorney Fees Blog, the National Association of Legal Fee Analysis (NALFA) has identified 16 factors in court awarded attorney fees. Several of these fee factors are derived from such seminal fee jurisprudence cases as Goldberger v. Integrated Resources, 209 F.3d 43 (2d Cir. 2000) and Johnson v.
Cigarette ad, Times Square. Feb. 1943. John Vachon, photographer. LOC. Although this case has quite a storied history, In re Tobacco Cases I, Case Nos. D061077/D061676 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Apr. 26, 2013) (unpublished) looks like it may be finally finished, thanks to this decision. What happened is this, in brief. People,
Block Billing Also Discussed. A creditor was sued under a cross-complaint by a debtor under both the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Debtor won a summary judgment motion on the FDCPA claim, on condition that she agree to a compensatory award of $1,
Marathon Funding, LLC v. Paramount Pictures, Case No. B240723 (2d Dist., Div. 8 Mar. 4, 2013) (Unpublished). In this first one, defendant won more than $690,548.90 in posttrial attorney’s fees under an investment agreement providing fees to the winner “in any action, suit, or other proceeding [that] is instituted concerning or arising out
Entitlement, Apportionment, and Amount Challenges Rejected. In Sinclair v. Katakis, Case No. F060497 (5th Dist. Jan. 23, 2013) (unpublished), $750,000 in attorney’s fees (out of a requested $1.2 million) and $33,141.67 in costs were awarded against defendants in a battle involving CC&Rs as well as notes and deeds of trust with contractual fee
