Plaintiff’s Fee Recovery of $291,155 Affirmed, Although 1.5 Requested Multiplier Denied. Here is one that again shows how small damages can justify fee awards of an exponential nature, in this case over eight times the successful compensatory recovery. Sciborski v. Pacific Bell Directory, Case No. D056440 (4th Dist., Div. 1 May 8, […]
No Apportionment of Fee Work Required Where Both Contract and Tort Claims Encompassed Within a Broad Fees Clause. Above: Beware the Jabberwock, my son! Sir John Tenniel, illustrator. Beware of the broadly worded fee clause, because it likely will give rise to fee entitlement no matter whether contract or tort theories are
Dismissal for Failure to Prosecute Did Make Defendant the Prevailing Party. In Halamandaris v. Sephos, Case No. C065819 (3d Dist. Apr 18, 2012) (unpublished), plaintiff’s action for the various claims described in our heading above was dismissed for failure to prosecute. The backdrop for all claims was a promissory note with a fees
Lower Court Could Conclude Consumer’s Requested Fees Were Padded in Making Reduced Award. Plaintiff consumer reached a settlement with Sears, Roebuck for a gift card dispute under the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, preserving the ability to seek reasonable fees and costs from the lower court under the compromise. (CLRA does have a fee-shifting
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
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
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
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,
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
$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
