Cases: Section 998

Costs, Section 998, Special Fee-Shifting Statutes: Plaintiff Gets Second Chance At Arbitration And Post-Arbitration Costs Where Trial Court Erroneously Interpreted That The Parties’ Insurance Agreement Precluded The Award Of Arbitration Costs

Cases: Costs, Cases: Section 998, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Insurance Policy Did Not Preclude Recovery Of Costs Under Sections 998 Or 1293.2 And Strictly Limited Arbitrator’s Authority To Decide Only Plaintiff’s Entitlement To Damages And The Amount Thereof.             In Storm v. The Standard Fire Ins. Co., Case No. B299277 (2d Dist., Div. 4 July 24, 2020) (published), plaintiff and defendant insurance company […]

Section 998: 4/3 DCA Affirms Trial Court’s Conclusion That Plaintiff’s Section 998 Offer Was Validly Accepted Despite Being Signed By Defendant’s Counsel Instead Of Defendant

Cases: Section 998

There Was No Reasonable Dispute That Defendant Had Accepted And Agreed To Be Bound By The Terms Of The Offer.             In Newman v. Larios, Case No. G057542 (4th Dist., Div. 3 June 22, 2020) (unpublished), plaintiff sued two defendants for personal injuries he sustained when his motorcycle was struck by cars driven by

Costs, Experts, Insurance, Section 998: Denial Of All But $11,753.94 Of Prevailing Personal Injury Plaintiff’s $83,048.06 Costs Request Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Costs, Cases: Experts, Cases: Insurance, Cases: Section 998

An Invalid Section 998 Offer And A Failure To Reserve The Right To Seek Prevailing Party Fees In Agreements To Split Costs Sealed Plaintiff’s Fate.             In Anthony v. Li, Case No. A156640 (1st Dist., Div. 3 April 13, 2020) (published), a prevailing personal injury plaintiff, to whom a jury awarded $650,235.00 in damages

Section 998: 998 Offer Requesting Release Of All Claims In Above-Captioned Civil Action And Release Of Affiliate Nonparties Did Not Render It Invalid

Cases: Section 998

$35,240.80 Costs Shifting Award Affirmed On Appeal.             In Kaplan v. Del Amo Hospital, Inc., Case Nos. B296107/B297898 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Mar. 26, 2020) (unpublished), defendant did serve a “successful” CCP § 998 offer to plaintiff, given a defense verdict.  The trial judge awarded costs of $35,240.80 against plaintiff, prompting an appeal on the

Costs, Prevailing Party, Section 998, Section 1717: Trial Court Order Denying All Attorney’s Fees And Costs To Defendants Reversed On Appeal

Cases: Costs, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Section 998

Defendants Will Be Entitled To Substantial Fees/Costs On Remand, Not To Mention An Attempt To Garner Even More Fees.             This next case is a very substantial reverse of fortune on appeal.  So, that takes us to posting on Abregov v. Lawrence, Case No. G056866 (Abregov II) (4th Dist., Div. 3 Mar. 19, 2020) (unpublished).

Costs, Section 998: Most Of $137,559.43 Costs Award To Successful Defendant Property Manager Affirmed On Appeal As Against Unsuccessful Plaintiff Tenants

Cases: Costs, Cases: Section 998

Property Manager’s 998 Offers Were Not Token, Although Some Expert Fees, Exhibits Not Used At Trial, And Attorney Lodging Costs Had To Be Excluded Or Revisited.             Lewis v. RDM Mgt., Inc., Case No. B280728 (2d Dist., Div. 7 March 2, 2020) (unpublished) is a situation where plaintiff tenants in a 23-unit apartment obtained a

Costs, Section 998: Two $50,000 998 Offers Were Made In Good Faith, Justifying Personal Injury Plaintiffs’ Receipt Of Postoffer Costs Of $99,833.53, With Two Minor Modifications On Appeal

Cases: Costs, Cases: Section 998

Fifth District Struck $4,608.53 For Models/Blowups/Exhibit Photocopies And $2,850 Court Reporter Fee For Lack Of Particularized Detail.             The Fifth District, in Childress v. Aaron, Case No. F077027 (5th Dist. Feb. 28, 2020) (unpublished), did a nice, scholarly job of discussing Code of Civil Procedure section 998 good faith principles and Code of Civil Procedure

Sanctions, Section 998: 1/5 DCA Reversed And Remanded CCP § 998 Award In Favor Of Defendants, Although Reversing As A Matter Of Law CCP § 128.5 Sanctions Against Plaintiff

Cases: Sanctions, Cases: Section 998

Lower Court’s 998 Award Needed Recalculation; 2017 Amendments To Section 128.5 Rendered That Award Against Plaintiff Invalid As A Matter Of Law.             In Lee v. Harjono, Case No. A151656 (1st Dist., Div. 5 Jan. 23, 2020) (unpublished), plaintiff (a lawyer) sued defendant driver and his wife in a car accident case, rejecting some CCP

Consumer Statutes, Section 998: Trial Court Erred In 40.4% Reduction To Prevailing Plaintiffs’ Song-Beverly Fee Request For Fraud Causes Of Action

Cases: Consumer Statutes, Cases: Section 998

Language in Defendant’s 998 Offer Was Ambiguous And Did Not Allocate Any Portion Of Payment To Any Cause Of Action Other Than The Song-Beverly Claim. Miss Rose Cade – Queen of the Lemons – 1919 or 1920             In Smart v. Ford Motor Company, Case No. C087422 (3d Dist., January 21, 2020) (unpublished), lemon

Costs, Experts, Insurance, Section 998: Trial Court Properly Awarded Costs, Including Almost $70,000 In Expert Witness Fees, To Successful Defendant After Plaintiff’s Rejection Of Defendant’s Section 998 Offer

Cases: Costs, Cases: Experts, Cases: Insurance, Cases: Section 998

Plaintiff May Have Been Overreaching When He Followed Defendant’s $15,001 Offer With His Own $299,995 Offer Given Jury’s Return Of Defense Verdict.             Grayfer v. Wawanesa General Ins. Co., Case No. B285554 (2d Dist., Div. 7 November 18, 2019) (unpublished) provides a cautionary tale about the risk involved in overreaching and rejecting reasonable section

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