Trope Does Not Bar Assistive Efforts. In Hance v. Smith, Case No. D051917 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Mar. 3, 2009) (unpublished), respondent on appeal was found to be entitled to attorney’s fees under a Memorandum of Understanding when he successfully utilized an attorney in helping fend off appellant’s motion to obtain dissolution of […]
First District, Division 3 Decides Dismissal is Final For Section 1717 Purposes. Recently, we have seen a slew of decisions, mainly unpublished, on what situations constitute finality for purposes of justifying a fee award under Civil Code section 1717. They go from one extreme like Santisas v. Goodin, 17 Cal.4th 599 (1998) (where the
Court of Appeal Affirms Substantial Fee Award, But Reverses CCP Section 128.7 Sanctions. As our Mission Statement warns, attorney’s fees can make or break a litigant given the high costs of taking a case to verdict or decision. The next litigant learned this message all too well, when a substantial fee award was affirmed
Fourth District, Division 3 Splits On Liability Issue, But Decides No Fees. In a first impression decision, involving a matter of last impression, a Fourth District, Division 3 panel split on whether a cemetery’s temporary interment of a stranger in a family plot adjacent to one’s parents may give rise to an emotional distress
Fourth District, Division 1 Distinguishes Its Own Otay Decision. It is interesting that certain issues pop up and are discussed by different appellate courts around the same time frame. In our February 20, 2008 post, we explored Hall-Mark Services, Inc. v. Harris & Associates, an unpublished Third District decision that distinguished Otay River
Local Santa Ana Appellate Court Follows Santisas. Santisas v. Goodin, 17 Cal.4th 599 (1998) is one of our Leading Cases, where the California Supreme Court held that contractual fees are not available under Civil Code section 1717(b)(2) where a case has been voluntarily dismissed or dismissed pursuant to a settlement of the case
Court of Appeal Discusses Numerous Issues Under the Two Statutes. In a complicated construction dispute between window subcontractor and other construction professionals sued for equitable indemnity and contribution, the Fourth District, Division 1 reversed and affirmed some fee awards against window subcontractor after overturning a judgment on the pleadings, affirming a summary judgment as
Third District So Holds in Recent Unpublished Decision. Under our category “Allocation,” we have reviewed cases arising under Civil Code section 1717 in which courts do and do not require apportionment of work between contract/noncontract claims for purposes of awarding fees. The basic test is that apportionment is not required where claims are “so
Fourth District, Division 2 Extends Mediation Penalty to Nonsignatories in Unpublished Opinion. In our category “Cases: Mediation,” we have surveyed decisions warning all participants in a real estate transaction to satisfy a mediation requirement if it is called for as a requisite of obtaining an award of attorney’s fees under a fees clause. (Two
Second District, Division 7 Remands for Further Fee Proceedings. City of Los Angeles won attorney’s fees against a replacement contractor selected by a bonding surety, where surety and replacement contractor entered into contractual agreements incorporating original agreements between City and the replaced contractor. Replacement contractor lost in the construction litigation, with the trial court
