Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

Finding that Plaintiff’s Actions and Omissions Were "Exceptional" in Patent Lawsuit, USDC Judge Gary Feess Awards Substantial Fees to Defendant

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

  Feess on Fees:  Award Equals $779,100.34 in Fees, $11,769.20 in Expenses, and $28,776.49 in Other Costs.      We learned from an unpublished order in the next case that according to a recent American Intellectual Property Lawyers Association survey, “the average patent infringement suit with between $1 million and $25 million at stake costs $1.794 […]

Civil Code Section 1717: Mutuality Of Remedy Means Winner Gets Fees Even If Winner Proves There Was No Valid Contract

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Section 1717

Recent Case Illustrates Operation of this Mutuality Principle.      In Silva v. Tong, Case No. A124903 (1st Dist., Div. 4 Dec. 11, 2009) (unpublished), plaintiff sought to enforce a purchase offer with an attorney’s fees clause as an enforceable contract even though it was never signed by defendants. Defendants were granted summary judgment, and then

Reasonableness Of Fees: If You Are Gonna Challenge, Make Sure You Specify The Bases With Particularity, Whether Substantive Or As To Amount

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Third District Rebuffs Generalized Challenges to Fee Award, Finding Many Arguments Waived Based on a Lack of Specificity.      Defendant in Allen v. Fulton, Case No. C059088 (3d Dist. Dec. 9, 2009) (unpublished) got hammered with a $217,422 fees/costs award ($212,473 of which consisted of fees) after summary judgment motions and a bench trial,

Homeowner Associations: Ouch!—Condo Owner Stung With $238,000 Fees/Costs Award After Losing Contentious Battle Over Using Disputed Floor Tile In Unit

Cases: Homeowner Associations, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Fourth District, Division 1 Finds Award Disproportionate At First Glance, But Affirms Based Upon Total Review of the Litigation Below.      Homeowner-homeowner association battles can be very, very contentious and expensive for the losing side—as the next homeowner learned, in a dispute over the floor covering in his condominium unit.      McGuire v. 235

Probate: Probate Courts Can Award Fees Against Losing Beneficiaries’ Future Trust Distributions When Their Actions Found To Be In Bad Faith

Cases: Costs, Cases: Probate, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

Fifth District, in Published Decision, Supports Broad Equitable Powers of Probate Courts.      Probate contests are often donnybrooks between different beneficiaries or relatives. This next one was certainly that. However, the losing minority beneficiaries caused the trustee to expend lots of attorney’s fees, which were recouped when the probate court ruled they could be obtained

Fee Clause Interpretation: Landlord Awarded Substantial Attorney Fees For Prevailing In Three Actions Against Feisty Former Tenant

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

  Court of Appeal Finds Fee Clause is Broad Enough to Encompass All Three Actions.      Under Civil Code section 1717, the key to recovering fees in disputes involving contract and tort claims often devolves to a determination of whether the fee clause is sufficiently broad to encompass matters “arising out of” or “concerning” the

Reasonableness Of Fees And Costs: Recent Decision Is A Landmine For Review Of Mathematical Basis of Fees and For Obtaining Reversal Of Fee Award

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Sixth District’s 71-Page Decision Explores a Plethora of Issues.      We hardly know where to begin on the next one, a scholarly 71-page slip opinion from the Sixth District in Gorman v. Tassajara Development Corp., Case No. H031196 (6th Dist. Oct. 6, 2009) (certified for publication). However, we will give the highlights, because it

Broad Fees Clause And Failure To Challenge Excessiveness Of Fee To Winner Spells Trouble For Losing Country Club Members

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Fourth District, Division 1 Affirms $779,955.97 Postjudgment Fees/Costs Award.      The next case covers several cross-over issues: fees clause interpretation; apportionment between covered and noncovered claims; and reasonableness of fees.      Here we go.      In Urquhart v. Del Mar Country Club, Case No. D052711 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Sept. 28, 2009) (unpublished), a

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