Cases: Section 1717

Reasonableness Of Fees: Appellate Court Affirms $611,544.75 Fee Award Where Compensatory Damages Were Only $271,682

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Section 1717

No Proportionality Required Under Section 1717; Defense Expenditure Of More Proved Reasonableness.      In Big Ring Holdings, LLC v. Van Ness Mgt., LLC, Case No. A126692 (1st Dist., Div. 2 Jan. 26, 2011) (unpublished), plaintiff tenant was awarded $271,682 in damages for a leaking ceiling in a dispute over a yet-to-be-opened laundromat where there was […]

Prevailing Party: $79,267.65 Winner Of Contract Dispute After Jury Trial Garners $261,176.50 Fee Award And $22,312.87 Costs Award

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 1717

Fee Award Does Not Have to be Proportional to Damages Award for Civil Code Section 1717 “Prevailing Party” Purposes.      Here is one which, yet again, reiterates that trial courts have tremendous discretion in determining the “prevailing party” under Civil Code section 1717 as well as the amount of damages to be awarded–which do not

Retainer Agreements/Section 1717/Reasonableness of Fees: Client Winner Against Attorney After Voiding Retainer Agreement Was Entitled to 1717 Fee Recovery

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Retainer Agreements, Cases: Section 1717

Sixth District Rejected 1717 Mutuality Challenge, But Did Remand For Determination of Reasonable Fee After Proof Failure.      Here is a very interesting one at the top of a new year in the retainer agreement/Civil Code section 1717/reasonableness of fees areas.      Palmer v. Taylor, Case No. H033644 (6th Dist. Jan. 4, 2011) (unpublished) was

Section 1717: Attorney’s Fees Award Reversed Because Declarations Did Not Establish Whether “Of Counsel” Attorneys Got Past Trope Restriction

Cases: POOF!, Cases: Section 1717

$20,147.50 Fee Award and $3,581.87 Costs Award Go POOF!       We have many times explored the restriction in Trope v. Katz, 11 Cal.4th 274, 292 (1995) [one of our Leading Cases], where in propria persona attorneys cannot recover Civil Code section 1717 fees expended in litigating matters on their own behalf. The hallmark of situations

Year End Wrap-Up: Mike & Marc’s Top 20 Attorney’s Decision Fees Decisions–Part 2 of 2.

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Costs, Cases: Experts, Cases: Liens for Attorney Fees, Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5), Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Requests for Admission, Cases: Retainer Agreements, Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

     Here is the second installment of our top 20 decisions.      10. Jankey v. Lee, 181 Cal.App.4th 1173 (1st Dist., Div. 4 2010), review granted, No. S180890 (May 12, 2010) — authored by Presiding Justice Ruvolo; discussed in our Feb. 6, 2010 post.      Attorney’s fees are awardable to a prevailing defendant under Civil

Section 1717: Trope Limitation Did Apply Where Employed Associate Of Plaintiff Lawyer Was Used to Successfully Sue Former Client For Unpaid Fees

Cases: Section 1717

Second District, Division 1 Finds Witte Is Most Analogous “Fit.”      What do irony, zeugma, and Witte have in common?  Trope.      Civil Code section 1717 is an oft-used fee shifting provision used where there is a contractual fee clause. However, the California Supreme Court in Trope v. Katz, 11 Cal.4th 274, 291 (1995) [one

Section 1717, Allocation, Civil Rights Cost Recovery, Prevailing Party, And Section 998: Court Of Appeal Faces A Melange Of Fee/Costs Issues

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Section 998

Fourth District, Division One Affirms Trial Court’s “Wash” Decision on Issues.      The next case involves a melange of fee and costs issues arising from a contract and civil rights case in which plaintiff recovered nothing on her claims but beat school district’s contract cross-claim. That gave rise to all sort of prevailing party claims

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