Cases: Section 998 – Page 7 – Cal Attorneys Fees

Section 998: Third District Reverses $98,823.55 Fees/Costs Award To Lemon Law Plaintiffs Because The Settlement Reached After Plaintiffs’ Rejection Of Two 998 Offers Constituted A Judgment With A Principal Amount Below That Of The Final 998 Offer.

April 15, 2023

Dissenting Opinion Held That Section 998’s Cost-Shifting Provisions Do Not Apply Where A Plaintiff’s Less Favorable Result Came About Through Settlement Of The Case Rather Than A Litigated Result Following Trial Or Arbitration. In Madrigal v. Hyundai Motor America, Case No. C090463 (Third Dist., April 11, 2023) (published) defendant made two Code Civ.

Costs, Prevailing Party, Private Attorney General, Section 998, Trespass: Prevailing Defendant/Cross-Complainant Obtains Attorney’s Fees Under Trespass Fee Shifting Statute Despite Receiving Nominal Damages And Also Receives Routine Costs

Cases: Costs, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5), Cases: Section 998, Cases: Trespass

March 7, 2023

Losing Plaintiff/Cross-Defendant Denied Private Attorney General Fee Request In Opinion With Several Cross-Over Issues. Direct Action Everywhere SF Bay Area etc. v. Diestel Turkey Ranch, Case No. A162702 (1st Dist., Div. 2 Mar. 1, 2023) (unpublished) is an opinion with many cross-over issues as identified in our main title to this post. In

Consumer Statutes, Section 998: Chen v. BMW Case Now Published

Cases: Consumer Statutes, Cases: Section 998

January 24, 2023

Lemon Law Plaintiff Obtained Significantly Less Fees Based On Rejected Section 998 Defense Offer. On December 30, 2022, we posted on Chen v. BMW of North America, a Sixth District unpublished opinion in which a significantly reduced lemon law fees award to a plaintiff, who rejected a defense CCP § 998 offer, was found

Section 998: Smalley Opinion Is Now Published

Cases: Section 998

January 12, 2023

Shows How A Nicely Crafted 998 Offer Can Benefit A Defendant In A Lemon Law Case. In a December 13, 2022 post, we reviewed Smalley v. Subaru of America, Inc., a 4/3 DCA unpublished case at the time which showed how a defendant in a lemon law case crafted a nice CCP § 998 offer which

Section 998: Subaru’s 998 Offer Was Reasonable And Made In Good Faith, Such That Plaintiff Properly Only Awarded Pre-offer Costs And Subaru Was Properly Awarded Post-offer Costs

Cases: Section 998

December 13, 2022

Plaintiff’s Appeal Of Order Staying Fee Motion To Determine 998 Offer Validity Was Non-appealable, But Validity Of The Offer Means That No Post-Offer Fees Are Due to Plaintiff On Remand (Likely). Smalley v. Subaru of America, Inc., Case Nos. G059904/G060441 (4th Dist., Div. 3 December 13, 2022) (unpublished) is complementary of our July 5,

Private Attorney General, Section 998: Plaintiff Properly Denied CCP 1021.5 Fees And $700,000 Section 998 Fees In Favor Of Some Defendants Reversed

Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5), Cases: Section 998

October 31, 2022

No Public Benefit Conferred By Misleading Proposition 65 Temporary Warnings, And 998 Offer Releases Were Overbroad. In Council for Education and Research on Toxics v. Starbucks Corporation, Case Nos. B309227 et al. (2d Dist., Div. 4 Oct. 26, 2022) (published), defendants properly won a summary judgment in a Proposition 65 case when new regulations

Section 998: Oral Summary Judgment Grant Cuts Off Ability To Accept A 998 Offer

Cases: Section 998

October 29, 2022

Mischief Would Result If This Was Not The Consequence. In Trujillo v. City of Los Angeles, Case No. B314042 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Oct. 27, 2022) (published), a defendant moved for summary judgment and made a CCP 998 offer days before the hearing. The trial court orally granted the summary judgment motion, with

Section 998: If You Want A Settlement Agreement And Release As Part Of A 998 Offer, Make Sure To Attach One And Make Releases Narrow So As To Validate The Offer

Cases: Section 998

October 29, 2022

Otherwise, Unspecified Settlement Terms Are Too Uncertain In Nature. K.M. v. Grossmont Union High School Dist., Case Nos. D0759571/D076833 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Oct. 25, 2022) (published) holds that if you, as a CCP offeror, want a settlement agreement or Civil Code section 1542 release as part of the 998 offer, you better

Section 998: Where Conditional Acceptance Was Not Unqualified, Lower Court Erred In Entering Judgment On The Qualified 998 Acceptance

Cases: Section 998

August 27, 2022

Although Other Settlement Procedures Could Be Utilized, Section 998 Did Not Allow Entry Of Judgment Based On A Less Than Clear Settlement. Siri v. Sutter Home Winery, Inc., Case No. A161923 (1st Dist., Div. 4 Aug. 25, 2022) (published) should remind all practitioners that CCP § 998 cannot be used as a surrogate method

Deadlines, Section 998: Plaintiff’s Acceptance Of A 998 Offer With Stipulated Fee Cap Took The Steam Out Of Later Attorney’s Fees Motion

Cases: Deadlines, Cases: Section 998

August 12, 2022

Beyond That, The Motion Was Not Filed On 16-Court Days’ Required Notice. This case shows how a litigant and his attorney’s prior actions can have a dramatic impact on a later attempt to obtain more attorney’s fees through a noticed fee motion. In Baiocchi v. Ford Motor Co., Case No. G059143 (4th Dist.,