Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

Probate/Reasonableness Of Fees/Substantiation Of Fees: Lower Court Award Of Fees, Before Prior Appellate Decision Reviewing Compensatory Award, Had To Be Reversed When Appeals Court Substantially Scaled Back Compensatory Award

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

  Scaling Back to One Fifth Meant that a Fee Fixing Remand Was Necessary.      Here is a very pragmatically-based decision from our local Fourth District, Division 3 appellate court, dealing with a situation where a lower court fixed fees on the premise that a higher compensatory award was in play when a prior appellate […]

Employment/Costs/Reasonableness Of Fees: Winning Plaintiff Did Get Lost Wage Attorney’s Fees, But Only $60,000 Out Of Requested $260,817.50

Cases: Costs, Cases: Employment, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Costs Taxed for Korean Interpreters and Discovery Referee Expenses.      Plaintiff, an ex-employee, did win compensatory and some punitive damages from his former employer, doing so through a complaint that included a lost wage claim. Winner then requested $260,817.60 in attorney’s fees under Labor Code section 218.5, a pro-plaintiff lost wage fee-shifting statute, and

Probate/Reasonableness Of Fees: 40% Contingency For Successful Settlement For Disabled Worker Sustained By Appellate Court

Cases: Probate, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Retainer Agreements

  Intermediate Court Actually Reverses Trial Court Cut in Fee Award to Attorney, Citing Excellent Result and Extraordinary Work of Attorney.      Here is one that we do not see that often.      At the lower court level, an attorney had a 40% contingency fee agreement to represent a disabled, mentally incompetent worker who suffered

Reasonableness Of Fees/Special Fee Shifting Statute: Prevailing Parties Under California Voting Rights Act Are Entitled To Fees, But Only Against One Party And 95% Fee Reduction For Inflated Fees Was No Abuse Of Discretion

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

  Only $162,500 In $1.7 Million Requested Fees Were Awarded–A Result Sustained On Appeal.      Rey v. Madera Unified School Dist., Case No. F061532 (5th Dist. Feb. 28, 2012) (certified for publication) is somewhat of a sobering decision, reminding all of us that inflated fee requests can and will be severely discounted by lower courts,

Reasonableness Of Fees: Over 20% Reduction In Requested Fees Established Reasonableness Of Trial Court Award Under Civil Code Section 1717

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Section 1717

  After All, When Initial Loser Became the Eventual Winner, Eventual Loser’s Fees Showed Eventual Winner’s Request Not All That Bad.      Bioquest Venture Leasing v. VivoRx Autoimmune, Inc., Case No. B225195 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Feb. 22, 2012) (unpublished) is one of those procedurally convoluted cases where plaintiff initially won and was awarded attorney’s

Private Attorney General/Reasonableness Of Fees: Attorneys Representing Public Interests Entitled To Same Compensation As Private Practicing Attorneys In Community

Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5), Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  $313,000 Fee Award Affirmed on Appeal.      Nonprofit interests won a mandate proceeding requiring the City of Redondo Beach to put a local coastal progress amendment to a public vote. Plaintiffs then requested an attorney’s fees award of $354,978.12 under California’s private attorney general statute (CCP § 1021.5), which included a .25 multiplier. City

Costs/Reasonableness Of Fees: Fee Award To Prevailing Party Of $80,000 Sustained Even Though Request Was $560,236.47

Cases: Costs, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Deposition Costs Disallowed Where No Detail Provided.      The next case from our local Santa Ana appellate court teaches two lessons: (1) prevailing parties filing costs memoranda need to utilize the entire Judicial Council forms, including the worksheets which have more detail that just the initial summary page; and (2) Civil Code section 1717

Substantiation Of Reasonableness Of Fee Request: Defense Request For FEHA “Frivolousness” Fee Recovery Denied Because Of Block Billing

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Block Billing Vitiated Certainty of Defense Request for Allocated Fee Recovery.      We have many, many times before warned about the dangers of block billing. Under governing California law, block billing can result in draconian results when a trial court considers a fee request–it can disregard the billing in entirety or reduce the request

Deadlines/Section 1717/Substantiation Of Reasonableness of Fees: Fourth District, Division 3 Talks About Timely Moving For Fee Recovery, Scope of Section 1717 Recovery, And Fee Billing Redactions

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

  Reversal and Remand Was the Result in this One.      Acting Presiding Justice O’Leary in Fuller v. Monogram Real Estate, Case No. G044808 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Dec. 19, 2011) (unpublished), on behalf of a 3-0 panel of our local appellate court, got to explore three issues of interest in the attorney’s fees area

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