Result Was That Expert Witness Costs Award Of $60,023.90 Went POOF! In Miller v. Fleming, Case No. A150554 (1st Dist., Div. 1 Aug. 3, 2018) (unpublished), plaintiff sued two defendants mainly for breach of fiduciary duty based on an oral partnership joint venture opportunity. Plaintiff eventually won $3.7 million in compensatory damages from a […]
We Think Panel Erred On The Trial Judge Lacking Jurisdiction To Entertain Fee Motion. In Swinerton Builders v. Fresno Plumbing & Heating, Inc., Case No. F069825 (5th Dist. July 31, 2018) (unpublished), a general contractor won an indemnity dispute against a plumbing contractor under a subcontract with an indemnification/fees clause. The jury entered a
Result Was Affirmance Of $38,000 Fees Award On One Of Three Cases, But Affirming The Denial Of The Remaining $165,000 Total Request Based On Topical Analysis Above. Contreras v. Silla America, Inc., Case No. B283118 (2d Dist., Div. 3 July 17, 2018) (unpublished) involved a situation where a trial judge decided that an overall
Vacation Pay Award Totaled $28,500, With Prevailing Plaintiff Winning Subsequent Fees Of $495,549.75 And Costs Of $84,035.40. Curran v. Schools of the Sacred Heart-San Francisco, Case Nos. A142615/A143646 (1st Dist., Div. 2 June 5, 2018) (unpublished) was a case where plaintiff, dean of students at defendant, did not have her contract extended after 37
Defense Agreed To Pay $7,500 For Plaintiff’s Fees And Costs Or, Alternatively, An Amount To Be Determined On Noticed Motion. A valid CCP § 998 offer to compromise is a valid cost-shifting mechanism under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (commonly known as California’s “lemon law”). Kia Motors America, Inc. offered to pay plaintiff $30,000.01 plus
Remand Was Order, But A Potential $575,000 To $994,000 In Expert And Attorney’s Fees Must Be Considered In “Re Do.” Prince v. Invensure Ins. Brokers, Inc., Case Nos. G051996 et al. (4th Dist., Div. 3 May 18, 2018) (partially published; section 998 discussion published, with remaining fee discussion unpublished) is an insurance business merger
Matter Remanded For Defense To Seek 998 Costs, Including $96,192.86 In Expert Witness Fees. One of the key issues in drafting Code of Civil Procedure section 998 offers is to make the offer definite enough, given there is a good body of case law offering clues on how to make offers certain in nature.
Expert Witness Fee Requests Did Not Have To Be Scaled Down Due To Plaintiff’s Financial Condition. On the merits, Alexander v. Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, Case No. D071001 (May 11, 2018 partially published; costs discussion not published) is a wrenching decision on a patient’s health care directives conflicting with providers’ opinions that the
It Did Not Matter That The Defense Itself Spent About $80,000 In Expert Witness Fees To Defend Themselves. Under our category “Section 998,” we have posted on numerous cases which show how even a modest 998 offer can result in significant fee- or costs-shifting in favor of the successful offeror. To this list, we
Court-Ordered Mediation Costs Are Discretionary Costs Item For Award Purposes. Hariri v. Clark, Case No. A149402 (1st Dist., Div. 2 May 8, 2018) (unpublished) is an interesting case showing how a CCP § 998 offer involving largely non-monetary features may not give rise to cost shifting based on the results actually obtained. What happened
