Cases: Section 1717

Article Highlights Possible Division on Contractual Claim Partial Dismissals Under Section 1717.      Robert Freitas and Siddhartha Venkatesan, in a February 16, 2011 article entitled “Recovering Attorneys Fees” in The Recorder (e-newsletter available through Law.com), have written a nice, short article on recovering attorney’s fees under Civil Code section. Among under topics, they discuss fee […]

Defendant’s Fee Award Reversed Because Plaintiff’s Pleadings Based on Statutory Corporations Code Duty, Not a Contract With a Fees Clause.      Tabibian v. Waldman, Case No. B220760 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Feb. 9, 2011) (unpublished) is a case where plaintiff sued for breach of fiduciary duty/loyalty under Corporations Code section 309 even though there was

  Broad Fee Clause and Compulsory Cross-Complaint Issue Sealed the Deal.      You knew that this next case would be interesting when the appellate court said the following: “The records make it abundantly clear, however, that the litigation became extremely contentious, and even the parties’ lawyers became infected with the rancor and ceased to act

Entire Contract Must Be Considered in Fashioning Fee Award.      Acting Presiding Justice O’Leary, from our local Fourth District, Division 3, has penned a 3-0 decision that reminds us of the statutory breadth of Civil Code section 1717, the fee shifting provision applicable to contractual fee clauses. The case is Ghods v. Citicorp Vendor Finance,