Cases: Section 1717

Appeal Sanctions/Section 1717: Plaintiff Losing Alter Ego Theory Based On A Promissory Note Hit With Fee Recovery Under Reynolds Metals

Cases: Appeal Sanctions, Cases: Section 1717

  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 […]

Costs, Prevailing Party, Section 1717, Substantiation: $107,450 Fee And $22,318.45 Cost Awards In Favor Of Prevailing Plaintiff In Rescission Suit Affirmed

Cases: Costs, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

  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      In Kim v. Park, Case No. A139056 (1st Dist., Div. 3 Oct. 23, 2015) (unpublished), plaintiff was awarded $107,450 in fees and $22,318.45 in costs after obtaining rescission of a purchase of a business, with the fees being awarded based on a

Fee Clause Interpretation/Section 1717: Fee Recovery Cap In Attorney’s Fees Clause Not Void As Against Section 1717 Policies

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Section 1717

  $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

Bankruptcy/Section 1717: Bankruptcy Judge Erroneously Denied Debtor’s Requests For Recovery Of Fees After Defeating Car Lender’s “Hanging Paragraph” Secured Interest Claim In Chapter 13 Plan Confirmation Battle

Cases: Bankruptcy Efforts, Cases: Section 1717

  “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      In In re Penrod, No. 13-16097 (9th Cir. Oct. 1, 2015) (unpublished), debtor was successful against a car lender in a “hanging paragraph” dispute under 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(*) [no typo here – because this subsection was not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

Fee Clause Interpretation/Section 1717: Refusal To Award Escrow Holder Fees Under Escrow/Other Transactional Documents Reversed On Appeal

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Section 1717

  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

Appealability/Costs/Deadlines/Section 1717: Trifecta Of Unpublished Decisions On Various Fee/Costs Issues

Cases: Appealability, Cases: Costs, Cases: Deadlines, Cases: Section 1717

  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

Cases Under Review/Fee Clause Interpretation/Section 1717: Mountain Air Decision Pending For Review By California Supreme Court

Cases: Cases Under Review, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Section 1717

  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

Choice of Law/Section 1717: Ninth Circuit, In Diversity Case, Affirms Fee Award Under Bank Loan Documents Even Though Georgia Choice-Of-Law Clause Involved

Cases: Choice of Law, Cases: Section 1717

  California Choice of Law Principles Governed, With Ninth Circuit Believing California Supreme Court Would Decide 1717 Evinces Fundamental State Policy.     In one of our early posts on June 11, 2008, we talked about Civil Code section 1717—which makes unilateral contractual fees clauses reciprocal in nature—and its interplay with choice of law decision—decisions considering

Costs, Prevailing Party, Section 1717: Plaintiff Tenants Obtaining CAM Credits And Monetary Settlement Were Prevailing Parties

Cases: Costs, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 1717

  They Did Get $76,000 In Fees And $16,961 In Costs, But Not Anything More—Plaintiffs’ Behavior In Settlement Negotiations Found To Be Irrelevant For Fixing 1717 Fees.      Some of the gnarly cases involve those where there is no “unqualified winner” under Civil Code section 1717 as far as fees (although a winner for routine

Costs, Deeds Of Trust, Fee Clause Interpretation, Prevailing Party, Section 1717: Deed Of Trust Trustee Did Prevail Under Civil Code Section 1717 Where It Defensed Tort Claims And It Took Neutral Position On Contractual Claim Under Broadly Worded Fees Cla

Cases: Costs, Cases: Deeds of Trust, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: POOF!, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 1717

  POOF!:  Award of Fees/Costs To Plaintiff Reversed, With Remand To Award Fees/Costs To Prevailing Trustee.      Torigian v. WT Capital Lender Services, Case No. F068393 (5th Dist. June 24, 2015) (unpublished) is an interesting unpublished decision, authored by Acting Presiding Justice Cornell, where a neutral trustee under a deed of trust was found to

Scroll to Top