Cases: Section 1717

Prevailing Party/Section 1717/Substantiation Of Fees/Allocation/Reasonableness Of Fees: Tobacco I Case Now Certified For Publication

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

"Alex," prize German police dog and pet of Miss Ailsa Mellon, daughter of Treas. smokes cigarettes n’everything. Alex’s father is the $12,000 prize police dog "Wolfe".  1924.  Library of Congress.       In our April 27, 2013 post, we explored Tobacco I, an April 23 unpublished decision out of the Fourth District, Division 1 dealing with […]

Settlement/Section 1717/Trade Secret: Court of Appeal Honors Settlement Agreement Procedures Reserving Fee Determination

Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Settlement, Cases: Trade Secrets

Settlement Agreement’s Reservation Of Fee Determination Based on Trade Secret Misappropriation Statute Did Allow Lower Court To Determine If Fee Entitlement Proven In Postjudgment Fee Proceeding Denial of Fee Recovery Reversed and Remanded.      Khavarian Enterprises, Inc. v. Commline, Inc., Case No. B243467 (2d Dist., Div. 4 May 14, 2013) (published) demonstrates that appellate courts

Allocation/Employment/Section 1717: Employer Defendants Win $167,104.87 In Fees For Prevailing On Contract Claims, While Employee Winning On Wage/Hour Claim Receives $15,140 In Fees

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Employment, Cases: Section 1717

  Trial Court Decision Affirmed on Appeal.       Plaintiff, a chief technology officer, sued his ex-employer and a couple of other employees, losing contract and conversion claims but winning about $20,000 on an unpaid wage/hour claim. Both sides then moved for attorney's fees. The trial court awarded the defendants $167,104.87 in fees on the contract

Prevailing Party/Section 1717/Substantiation Of Fees/Apportionment/Reasonableness Of Fees: People Of The State Of California Get $2.944 Million Fee Recovery In Tobacco Cases I Affirmed On Appeal

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

     Cigarette ad, Times Square.  Feb. 1943.  John Vachon, photographer.  LOC.      Although this case has quite a storied history, In re Tobacco Cases I, Case Nos. D061077/D061676 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Apr. 26, 2013) (unpublished) looks like it may be finally finished, thanks to this decision.      What happened is this, in brief. People,

Section 1717: Fee Recovery Denied To Trial Settling Plaintiff Because Settlement Or Subsequent Settlement Did Not Have Fee Entitlement Basis

Cases: Section 1717

  $116,275 in Requested Fees Was the Resultant Loss.      Milette v. Vaughns, Case No. A134468 (1st Dist., Div. 5 Apr. 22, 2013) (unpublished) teaches all settling parties an important lesson: if you want to recover fees after a settlement, make sure the settlement or ensuing judgment pursuant to the settlement has a fees clause

Prevailing Party/Section 1717: Voluntarily Dismissing Plaintiff May Still Be Exposed To Attorney’s Fees Under Santisas On Remand

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 1717

  Fee Denial Reversed and Remanded.      Santisas v. Goodin, 17 Cal.4th 599 (1998) is one of our Leading Cases. It held that a voluntary dismissal of a case will bar Civil Code section 1717 contractually-based fee claim recovery, but not recovery under other claims. Instead, a broadly phrased fees clause may afford a contractual

Section 1717: Third Party Beneficiary And Equitable Theories Did Not Allow For Fee Recovery To Proportional Lenders Who Were Not Signatories To Documents With Fee Clauses

Cases: Section 1717

       In Savas v. Gerber, Case Nos. B236101/B237539 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Apr. 18, 2013) (unppublished), a three-eighths owners of a loan was disappointed when they did not receive a fee recovery against five-eighths owners after the nonjudicial foreclosure of some property in which they had proportionate loan holdings. Their appeal was unsuccessful, too.

Mediation/Section 1717: Side Agreement With Fees Clause Did Allow Prevailing Party To Obtain Fee Recovery Without Having To Pursue Mediation First

Cases: Mediation, Cases: Section 1717

  Unlike Other Situations, Side Agreement Was Not Integrated With Stock Purchase Agreement Requiring Mediation First, Resulting in $162,983.81 Fee Recovery to Prevailing Party Under Side Agreement.      In many cases we have posted on, Civil Code section 1717 worked to deny a fee recovery because several agreements were part of an integrated transaction, and

Equity/Section 1717/Poof!: Fifth District Finds “Buried, One-Sided” Escrow Agreement Fees Clause Was Unconscionable As To Losing Putative Class Action Plaintiff On Government Code Excessive Notary Fee Claim

Cases: Equity, Cases: POOF!, Cases: Section 1717

  $266,801 Fee Award to Defense Went POOF!      The defense in Hutton v. Fidelity National Title Co., Case Nos. F063318/F063922 (5th Dist. Jan. 31, 2013) (partially published; fee discussion unpublished) must have been feeling pretty good in this one. It had won a summary judgment against a plaintiff suing it on behalf of a

Fee Clause Interpretation/Section 1717: “Action” Language In Written Easement Agreement Fees Clause Encompassed Both The Complaint Or An Answer Raising A Successful Defense

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Section 1717

  Appellate Court Reverses Fees Denial Order, Siding With Justice Armstrong’s Interpretation of “Action” in Gil.      We now have a split of intermediate appellate thinking on whether “action” encompasses just the complaint or also a “defense” in an answer. Exxess Electronizz v. Heger Realty Corp., 64 Cal.App.4th 698 (1998) and Gil v. Mansano, 121

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