Cases: Section 998

Section 998: Separate Plaintiff’s Offers To Two Defendants Did Not Have To Be Combined, Such That The Total Jury Award Allowed Entitlement To Expert Witness Fees

Cases: Section 998

  $16,000 in Expert Witness Fees Against Defendants Affirmed.      In Slothower v. Northern California Inalliance, Case No. C067330 (3d Dist. Aug. 14, 2014) (unpublished), defendants failed to accept plaintiffs’ two separate offers to compromise, one on each defendant in the amount of $649,999. Later, the jury returned a verdict of $1.2 million in favor

Section 998: Lower Court Properly Found 998 Offer Of $5,000, Following Rejection Of Informal $25,000, Was Not In Good Faith

Cases: Section 998

  Developer Found Negligent, But Not Hit With Any Damages, Did Not Recoup Claimed Costs Of $97,875.42.      A residential tract developer found negligent in a construction defect case by a jury must have felt emboldened because the same jury awarded no damages. Developer then sought to recoup $97,875.42 ($77,660 being expert witness fees) in

Probate/Section 998: 998 Offer In Probate Court Found To Be Uncertain Based On Nonmonetary Terms Which Could Not Be Easily Ascertained

Cases: Probate, Cases: Section 998

Judgment Modification Terms Were Too Speculative in Nature.             Katz v. El Paseo Collection Elegante, Case No. G049807 (4th Dist., Div. 3 July 7, 2014) (unpublished) is a nice follow-on to our July 2, 2014 post in which we explored case law on what type of nonmonetary provisions in a CCP § 998 offer were

Requests For Admissions/Section 998: $51,269.20 Refusal To Award Plaintiff Costs-Of-Proof Sanctions And Grant of $35,092.50 Costs Award To Defense Based On 998 Offer Rejection—Both Determinations Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Requests for Admission, Cases: Section 998

  Lower Court Reasonably Exercised Discretion on Costs-of-Proof Sanctions Request and Correctly Found $100,000 998 Offer Was Reasonable.      In Harman v. Safeway, Inc., Case No. A134891 (1st Dist., Div. 2 June 17, 2014) (unpublished), plaintiff won a $5,060 personal injury jury verdict against Safeway after he was hit by a runaway grocery cart. Before

Civil Rights/Reasonableness Of Fees/Section 998: $30,000 Fees And Zero Costs To Plaintiff Accepting 998 Offer In Civil Rights Case No Abuse Of Discretion

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Section 998

Plaintiff Wanted $93,421.50 in Fees and $7,609.19 in Costs.      Arguing that a lower court erred in fixing the amount of a fee award is a tough proposition given that a deferential abuse of discretion review standard applies. Plaintiff learned that all too well in Nickel v. ARB, Inc., Case No. G048500 (4th Dist., Div.

Allocation/Reasonableness Of Fees/Section 998/Section 1717: $327,553 Fee Award To Plaintiff Residential Tract Developer, Which Won $126,818.62 At Trial, Sustained Under Broad Contractual Fees Clause

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Section 998

  Section 998 Calculation of Preoffer Fees/Costs Sealed the Result.      Frontier Land Companies v. Jeld-Wen, Inc., Case No. C064351 (3d Dist. May 22, 2014) (unpublished) is a case involving contractual/indemnity claims by plaintiff residential home builder against defendant window/door subcontractor. At trial, plaintiff claimed damages of $245,066.82, but the defense countered damages were at

Prevailing Party/Section 998/Section 1717: Plaintiffs In Sewer Easement Dispute With Nearby Defendants Not Entitled To Fees, While Defendants Properly Awarded $478,022 In Fees Under CCP § 998

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

  Result Was “Mixed” For Plaintiffs, While Plaintiffs Did Not Eclipse Defense 998 Offer.      The result in Smith v. Esmailzadeh, Case No. B239828 (2d Dist., Div. 8 Mar. 19, 2014) (unpublished) illustrates well our Mission Statement that "[a]ll too often attorney fees become the tail that wags the dog in litigation."  Deane Gardenhome Assn.

Section 998: Defense Cost Waiver Offer Was Reasonable After Plaintiff Had Case Resolved Adversely Through Two Summary Adjudication Motions

Cases: Section 998

  Cost Waiver Had Value—Over $60,000 In Costs.      Plaintiff brought suit after his vehicle collided with one of defendant’s light rail trains in Kurz v. Santa Clara Valley Transp. Auth., Case No. H039163 (6th Dist. Mar. 18, 2014) (unpublished). Plaintiff’s case was resolved adversely based on two summary adjudication motions, with the defense then

Scroll to Top