Cases: SLAPP

SLAPP: Plaintiff’s Failure To Timely Appeal SLAPP Merits Defeat Prevented Review Of The Merits; Although Appeal On The SLAPP Fees And Costs To Defendant Was Timely, Plaintiff Failed To Discuss The Fees/Costs Order In Her Appellate Briefing

Cases: SLAPP

Challenges to The Fee/Costs Order Were Forfeited.             Appellate practice is laced with important deadlines and briefing requirements.  Plaintiff failed to follow two important ones in Mitchell v. Dawn Wigeri Van Edema, Case No. C094757 (3d Dist. Nov. 1, 2022) (unpublished).  First, plaintiff failed to timely appeal the SLAPP merits grant within 60 days after […]

Appealability, SLAPP: Even Through Cross-Claims Were Dismissed During Pendency Of An Appeal, SLAPP Denial Appeal Was Not Moot

Cases: Appealability, Cases: SLAPP

The Reason Is That Attorney’s Fees Were In Play If The SLAPP Denial Was Reversed, As It Was.             Watkins v. D’Orio, Case No. B310902 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Sept. 14, 2022) (unpublished) involved a situation where cross-defendant appealed the denial of an anti-SLAPP as to certain cross-claims and, during the pendency of the appeal,

SLAPP: Lower Court Erroneously Denied Anti-SLAPP Fees To Two Out Of Three Defendants Based On The Notion That One Motion Rather Than Three Could Have Been Filed

Cases: SLAPP

Defendants Had Differing Interests, And Any Duplication Could Be Remedied By A Lodestar Downward Adjustment.             In Frym v. 601 Main Street LLC, Case No. A163086 (1st Dist., Div. 5 Aug. 24, 2022) (published), a trial judge granted defendant attorney’s fee request after an anti-SLAPP motion win, but the judge denied fees to the two

SLAPP: SLAPP Fee Award Affirmed Because Hourly Rates Were Reasonable

Cases: SLAPP

Opposing Arguments Were Dismissed, Including That A Prior Disciplined Attorney’s Rates Should Be Compromised Where No Causal Connection Demonstrated.             SLAPP fees are mandatory to a prevailing defendant, such that a challenge to their reasonableness must have some bite.  That bite was missing in Creative Care, Inc. v. McEntyre, Case No. B308643 (2d Dist., Div.

SLAPP: Sixth District Reverses Denial Of Attorney’s Fees And Costs To SLAPPing Defendant Achieving Partial Success

Cases: SLAPP

The Record Did Not Support Trial Court’s Finding That Defendants Derived No Practical Benefit From Their Partially Successful SLAPP Motion.             California’s Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16(c)(1) entitles a prevailing defendant on a special motion to strike to recover attorney’s fees and costs, but does not define the term “prevailing defendant” and is silent

SLAPP: $5,081.25 SLAPP Fee Award To Defense Sustained On Appeal

Cases: SLAPP

Attorney Disqualification Efforts Properly Excluded.             This one is interesting because it evokes the old adage “be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are.”  In Elliott v. Maland, Case No. D078935 (4th Dist., Div. 1 July 15, 2022) (unpublished), a partially successful SLAPP defendant sought $23,976.50 in attorney’s fees but the

Laffey Matrix, Probate, Sanctions, SLAPP: Lower Court Did Not Err In Fixing SLAPP Defense Fees In Two Defendants’ Favor

Cases: Laffey Matrix, Cases: Probate, Cases: Sanctions, Cases: SLAPP

Also, A Probate Court Properly Sanctioned Attorney For Violating Local Rule Page Limitations.             In Tukes v. Richard, Case Nos. B307242 et al. (2d Dist., Div. 8 July 12, 2022) (published), plaintiff lost SLAPP motions against two defendants, with the lower court awarding mandatory prevailing party fees of $49,071.50 and $26,905, respectively, after making some

Appealability, SLAPP: 2/7 DCA Affirms Its Conclusion In Earlier Published Opinion That Denial Of SLAPP Fees To Plaintiff After A Defense SLAPP Denial Is Not Immediately Appealable

Cases: Appealability, Cases: SLAPP

In Doing So, It Disagreed With Different Conclusions By Two Sister Appellate Courts.             Kaplan v. Davidson, Case No. B312826 (2d Dist., Div. 7 July 11, 2022) (unpublished) highlights a rift between this Division and other sister appellate courts on the question of whether denial of attorney’s fees to a plaintiff after a merits denial

Reviews: Articles On Anti-SLAPP Fee Awards And On Best Practices

Cases: SLAPP, Reviews

California Litigation Publishes Two Helpful Attorney Fees Articles In Latest Issue.         California Litigation, the journal of the Litigation Section of the California Lawyers Association, has published two articles relating to attorney fees in the latest issue, Vol. 35, No. 1 (2022). Co-contributor to this blog Marc is one of the editors of California Litigation.

Scroll to Top