Lower Negotiated Hourly Rate Helped Salt Reasonableness Of Fee Award. In Montoya v. Belk, Case No. D072275 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Mar. 23, 2018) (unpublished), defendant won a SLAPP motion and then sought $20,108 in mandatory “reasonable” fees, with the trial judge awarding $16,396 instead. On appeal, plaintiffs challenged this as an abuse of […]
Claimed Hourly Rate Was Excessive As Well As The Request For Total Fee Recovery. In Pecot v. Wong, Case No. A139566 (1st Dist., Div. 4 Jan. 18, 2018) (unpublished), defendants successfully moved to SLAPP six out of causes of action, then moving for mandatory attorney’s fees under CCP § 425.16. Defendants sought nearly $200,000
Claimed Hourly Rate Was Excessive As Well As The Request For Total Fee Recovery. In Pecot v. Wong, Case No. A139566 (1st Dist., Div. 4 Jan. 18, 2018) (unpublished), defendants successfully moved to SLAPP six out of causes of action, then moving for mandatory attorney’s fees under CCP § 425.16. Defendants sought nearly $200,000
However, Fees Might Have To Be Allocated. In Area 51 Production, Inc. v. City of Alameda, Case No. A144645 (1st Dist., Div. 4 Jan. 16, 2018) (unpublished), SLAPP defendants had their motions denied at the trial level but either won across the board or had partial victories in the appellate court, which decided the
Winning Defendant Requested $242,585, But Only Awarded $61,250. A big theme of our blog is that fee recovery is with rare exceptions limited to reasonable fees, even where there is mandatory fee entitlement under statutes like SLAPP (in favor of victorious defendants). D and S Homes, Inc. v. Ludlow, Case No. B276116 (2d Dist.,
Defense Smartly Stipulated To Reduce Fee Request By $10,000 During The Course Of Events. Shalant v. Mackston, Case No. B271189 (2d Dist., Div. 8 Oct. 10, 2017) (unpublished) is a case where a trial judge granted the defense appellate fees of $96,420 for defending a SLAPP victory. The decision is worth posting on because
Losing Plaintiff Waived Trope Argument And Lack Of Hearing Reporter’s Transcript Failed To Preserve Challenge To Amount Of Fee Award. In Rianda v. Foster, Case No. B271773 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Sept. 21, 2017) (unpublished), winning SLAPP defendant was awarded mandatory attorney’s fees of $37,568 after a highly contested fee proceeding where the trial
Case Involved JAMS Neutral John Trotter’s Mediation Activities, Which Were Successfully SLAPPed. In Chodosh v. Trotter, Case Nos. D070952/D070953 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Sept. 13, 2017) (unpublished), plaintiffs sued JAMS neutral John Trotter (a retired jurist from Orange County) based on alleged misconduct during a mediation. A defense SLAPP motion was granted based on
$42,500 In Fees And $2,842 In Costs Was The Total Award. According to a recent Associated Press article, a California state court judge earlier this year ordered U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa to pay $42,500 in attorney’s fees and $2,842 in costs for obtaining dismissal through a SLAPP motion of Rep. Issa’s defamation action against
Defendant SLAPP Winner Awarded Full Amount Of Request, Waiving Supplemental Request Based On Actions Below. In Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC v. Kasparian, Case No. B260613 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Aug. 31, 2017) (unpublished), a defendant successfully won a SLAPP action and was awarded $4,027.50 in fees, the exact amount requested. However, even
