Cases: Retainer Agreements

Retainer Agreements, SLAPP: Self-Represented Plaintiff’s Attempt To Obtain A Refund Of A $1,500 Retainer Fee Evolved Into Two Adverse Costs Awards Totaling $2,111.40 And A $15,600 Adverse Attorney Fees Award

Cases: Retainer Agreements, Cases: SLAPP

Plaintiff’s Initial Non-Binding Arbitration Win Of $1,325 Was Vacated In Superior Court, So Plaintiff Hired A Paralegal Years Later To Help Draft A Complaint That Ultimately Invited A Motion To Strike.             Corey v. Mudgett, Case No. D077532 (4th Dist., Div. 1 June 22, 2021) (unpublished) does not directly involve the appeal of an attorney

Fee Clause Interpretation, Retainer Agreements, Section 1717: Postjudgment Order Awarding Attorney $1,232,735 In § 1717 Fees And Costs Incurred Defending Against Former Client’s Tort And Contractual Claims And Cross-Claim For Unpaid Fees Affirmed

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Retainer Agreements, Cases: Section 1717

Retainer Agreement’s Broadly-Worded Fee Provision Allowed For Recovery Of Fees For Attorney’s Defense Of All Claims By Former Client, Including Tort Claims – The Defense Of Which Were Necessary To Defeat The Contractual Claim.             In Singh v. Molnar, Case No. B303366 (2d Dist., Div. 7 April 30, 2021) (unpublished), defendant attorney was awarded $1,232,735

Retainer Agreements: If Your Retainer Provides For A Deed Of Trust, Make Sure It Is B&P Section 6148 Compliant

Cases: Retainer Agreements

Contractual Breach/Quantum Meruit Claims Did Not Succeed On Behalf Of Noncompliant Attorney Seeking Deed Of Trust Recovery.             In Bishop v. Middleton, Case No. B299145 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Apr. 20, 2021) (unpublished), attorney sought to recover attorney’s fees under breach of contract and quantum meruit theories against a client on the theory that a

Ethics, Interest, Reasonableness Of Fees, Retainer Agreements: Where Fee Agreement Is Compliant/Enforceable Under B&P § 6148, Unconscionability Factor Guides Contractual Fees Charged And Reasonableness Governs Atty. Performance Under Retainer Agreement

Cases: Ethics, Cases: Interest, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Retainer Agreements

Attorney Obtained Substantial Pretrial Attachment, But He Did Not Obtain Substantial Interest On Delinquent Fees Because No Interest Provision Was Present In The Retainer Agreement.             Pech v. Morgan, Case No. B300524 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Mar. 11, 2021) (published) is an instructive decision indicating how enforceable, compliant fee agreements are dealt with in pretrial

Retainer Agreements: 4/2 DCA Unpublished Decision Holds That B&P § 6147 Voiding Of Contingency Agreement Is Subject To One-Year Legal Malpractice Statute Of Limitations

Cases: Retainer Agreements

No Direct Authority On Point, But Reasoning From One Decision Drove The Conclusion.             Lee v. Newman, Case No. E073745 (4th Dist., Div. 2 Mar. 4, 2021) (unpublished), a messy attorney-client retainer agreement/conversion dispute, is noteworthy for one issue which we found to be of interest.  There, a client argued that an attorney’s contingency agreement

Ethics, Retainer Agreements: December 2020 Article In The Orange County Lawyer Has Nine Practical Tips To Increase Collections And Avoid Costly Fee Disputes

Cases: Ethics, Cases: Retainer Agreements

Local Orange County Attorney Michael S. LeBoff Provides The Nine Tips.             In the December 2020 edition of the Orange County Lawyer magazine, Michael S. LeBoff, a partner at Klein & Wilson, in Newport Beach, California, has authored an article entitled “Increase Collections and Avoid Costly Fee Disputes:  Nine Practical Tips.”  We now summarize some

Retainer Agreements, Trade Secrets: In The Absence Of An Express Retainer Agreement Otherwise, Fees Earned Under Uniform Trade Secrets Act Belong To The Attorney, Not The Client

Cases: Retainer Agreements, Cases: Trade Secrets

Third District Applied Analogous Reasoning From Flannery Decision.             Many times, “ownership” of an attorney’s fees award can be critical—does it belong to the attorney or the client, especially after disputes fester?  The Third District in Aerotek, Inc. v. Johnson Group Staffing Co., Inc., Case No. C078435 (3d Dist. Sept. 15, 2020) (published) decided where

Retainer Agreements: Trial Court Erred In Narrow Interpretation Of Retainer Agreement That Did Not Hold Client Responsible For Unpaid Fees/Costs

Cases: Retainer Agreements

Pursuant To Statutory Rules Of Contract Interpretation, Contracts Should Be Construed As A Whole So As To Interpret The Mutual Intention Of The Parties.             In Lerner & Veit v. Power, Case No. A158322 (1st Dist., Div. 5 August 31, 2020) (unpublished), plaintiff law firm and defendant client entered into a written retainer agreement  wherein

Reasonableness Of Fees, Retainer Agreements: Lower Court Properly Denied Attorney’s Fees And Costs For Winning $7,580 Against Ex-Client In Fee Collection Case

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Retainer Agreements

Reason Was That Matter Should Have Been Brought As Limited Civil Case Rather Than An Unlimited One.             Code of Civil Procedure section 1033 grants a trial court discretion to deny, in whole or in part, a plaintiff’s recovery of litigation costs, including attorney’s fees, where the plaintiff brought the action as an unlimited

Retainer Agreements: Third District Rebuffs B&P 6147(b) Challenge To “Related Matters” Retention Language In Contingency Agreement

Cases: Retainer Agreements

The Language In The Contingency Agreement, Sustained On Appeal, Offers Some Drafting Tips To Attorneys In Fashioning Their Retainer Agreements.             Some drafting tips for retainer agreements are presented through the result affirmed in Meagher v. Robinson Bradford LP, Case No. C087478 (3d Dist. Apr. 21, 2020) (unpublished), where attorneys fought back several challenges to

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