4/3 DCA Does It Succinctly And Well. Presiding Justice O’Leary, in a 3-0 unpublished decision by the Fourth District, Division 3, affirmed a $76,890 contractual fee award against a plaintiff unsuccessfully attempting to unwind a foreclosure sale in Melgar v. Deutsche Bank National Trust, Case No. G051225 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Jan. 4, […]
Fee Request For $928,791.25 Never Happened As An Award. One must be careful on how one is positioned as far as status in attorney’s fees disputes, because nonsignatories must push the right “buttons” or they risk losing fees, which happened to the defendant/appellant in Seaport Village Ltd. v. Terramar Retail Centers, Case No.
Striking Fees Was Not Discrete Proceeding Allowing For Recovery. In Cooper v. Lavely & Singer, Case No. B261936 (2d Dist., Div. 4 Oct. 22, 2015) (unpublished), L&S won the merits of an arbitration case, but Cooper was successful in striking an arbitrator fee award in post-confirmation proceedings although the rest of the merits
Appellate Court Also Assessed $9,000 Against Appellant For Frivolous Appeal. Plaintiff sued to collect on a note with a fees clause, alleging that an individual defendant was the alter ego of the entity obligor. However, plaintiff’s case was dismissed for failure to prosecute it. The lower court then awarded fees of $125,000 out
Routine Costs Do Include Privately Retained Reporters Who Transcribe Court Hearings. In Kim v. Park, Case No. A139056 (1st Dist., Div. 3 Oct. 23, 2015) (unpublished), plaintiff was awarded $107,450 in fees and $22,318.45 in costs after obtaining rescission of a purchase of a business, with the fees being awarded based on a
$750 Contractual Fee “Cap” Honored In Lease Agreement. Senators comparing caps. Library of Congress. 1955. A trial judge in 511 S. Park View, Inc. v. Tsantis, No. BV031134 (L.A. Superior Court App. Div. Oct. 5, 2015) (published) awarded $12,375 in attorney’s fees to prevailing defendants after an unlawful detainer trial based on
“Hanging Paragraph” Claim Was “On The Contract” Under A Fees Clause. In In re Penrod, No. 13-16097 (9th Cir. Oct. 1, 2015) (unpublished), debtor was successful against a car lender in a “hanging paragraph” dispute under 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(*) [no typo here – because this subsection was not numbered after (a)(9) by
Escrow Holder Entitled to Fee Against Losing Broker. When it comes to contractual agreements not subject to any extrinsic evidence, appellate courts will construe them independently to see if fee entitlement was either properly granted or denied. In Nelson v. Peirce, Case No. B250609 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Sept. 29, 2015) (unpublished), the
Costs—CEQA Record Preparation: North County Advocates v. City of Carlsbad, Case No. D066488 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Sept. 10, 2015) (Unpublished). In this first case, the appellate court reversed and remanded a costs award in favor of City in a costs award with respect to certain record preparation costs. The takeaways here are
Split Opinion Decided Novation Defense Was “On The Contract” For Fee Clause Interpretation/Section 1717 Purposes. On November 21, 2014, we posted on Mountain Air Enterprises, LLC v. Sundowner Towers, LLC, 2014 WL 6488418 (Nov. 20, 2014) [1st Dist., Div. 2; majority opinion by Stewart, J. and dissenting opinion by Richman, J.], which held
