Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

Lodestar/Reasonableness Of Fees: Two Drastic Haircut Fee Decisions–One Reversed And One Affirmed

Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

Justice Bedsworth Gives Us Two Fee Case “Gems.”      Justice Bedsworth, who sits on the Fourth District, Division 3 (the venue where co-contributors Marc and Mike are based practice-wise), has written two interesting decisions on lodestar/reasonableness of fees. Both involved trial court decisions dramatically cutting fee requests. On appeal, one got reversed and the other […]

Reasonableness of Fees: $175,361.02 Fee Award To Winning Plaintiff Stands Because Abuse of Discretion Deferential Standard Could Not Be Surmounted

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Case Highlights How Fee Recoveries Can Be Substantial in Fairly Standard Real Estate Cases.      Mehrabian v. Meruelo Maddux Properties-Ponte Vista, LLC, Case No. B219623 (2d Dist., Div. 1 May 19, 2011) (unpublished) is not so remarkable for its conclusion, but highlights the high costs of fairly standard real estate litigation and demonstrates the

Section 1717 and Prevailing Parties: Fourth District, Division One, Rules that Civil Code Section 1717’s Prevailing Party Standard, Mutuality Principle, and Reasonable Fees Standard Apply to an Attorney’s Fees Provision in a Consent Decree

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Section 1717, Rates

Order Granting the People $707,882.50 in Attorney Fees and Costs of $32,673 Goes Up in Smoke, But Not to Worry, Parties Will Get to Light Up Again in Trial Court      In this appeal, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company challenged an order awarding attorney fees to the People for enforcing a Consent Decree banning participating tobacco

Allocation/Appealability/Homeowner Associations/Reasonableness Of Fees: $190,065 Fee Award Affirmed in “Acrid Dispute Between Neighbors” Under CC&Rs

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Appealability, Cases: Homeowner Associations, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

Trial Court’s Significant Reductions in Requested Fees Obviated Need to Apportion With Mathematical Precision.      The next case illustrates a result we see often in appellate decisions when apportionment of fees is necessary as between compensable and noncompensable claims: a lower court’s reduction of fee requests obviates the need to perform a CPA-like audit of

Special Fee Shifting Statute: Chino Municipal Ordinance’s Fee Provision Supported Substantial Fee Award Against Verizon

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

  $185,674.22 Fee Award and $12,829 Costs Award Sustained on Appeal.      Chino Municipal Code section 12.02.030 provides that any applicant (usually a telecommunications company obtaining an encroachment permit) failing to restore city or private property to the like or better condition after any encroachment damages “shall be liable for all costs to restore same

Private Attorney General Statute/Reasonableness Of Fees: 1985 California Attorney General Standards Provide Good Guidance Of Fee ReasonablenessUnder CCP § 1021.5

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

  Also Contains Good Guidelines in All Fee Proceedings.      We would like to thank reader James Wheaton, Esq., president of Environmental Law Foundation, for forwarding an August 23, 1985 memorandum circulated to all attorneys in the Office of the California Attorney General when that position was occupied by John K. Van de Kamp.     

Reasonableness Of Fees: Two Recent Incisive Legal Intelligence Studies Show Average Billing Rates For Small And Mid-Sized Firms And Internal Costs For In-House Counsel Departments

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Rates

     Incisive Legal Intelligence has two fairly recent surveys that may be of interest to those of you who follow our blog with respect to national attorney hourly rates and in-house counsel costs. Here you go. 2009 Billings Rates and Practice Survey for Small and Mid-Sized Firms.      In its 2009 study on billing rates

Sections 1717/998: Substantial Fee Awards To One Defendant And To Plaintiff As Against Other Defendants Sustained By Second District, Division One

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

Mutuality Principles and Invalidity of 998 Offer Buttressed Correctness of Trial Court’s Fee Awards.      Sargon Enterprises, Inc. v University of Southern California, Case Nos. B202789/B205034 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Feb. 9, 2011) (unpublished) was a hard fought case where plaintiff sued USC for breach of contract. Although lost profits evidence was found to have

Reasonableness Of Fees: $128,655 Fee Award Found To Be No Abuse of Discretion

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Standard of Review

Second District, Division 2 Sustains Substantial Award.      In Chapman v. Sullivan Motor Cars, LLC, Case Nos. B222542/B224885 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Feb. 9, 2011) (unpublished), plaintiff had a demurrer sustained without leave to his first amended complaint, with the lower court also adopting a referee’s decision to award attorney’s fees against plaintiff to the

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