Cases: SLAPP

Celebrities, SLAPP: $493,135 In SLAPP Fees And Costs Awarded To Phoebe Bridgers For Winning A SLAPP Motion In A Defamation Case Brought Against Her

Cases: Celebrities, Cases: SLAPP

The Request Was $670,510 In Fees And Costs.             Phoebe Bridgers, an indie folk music songwriter-singer, was sued for defamation by music producer Chris Nelson in Los Angeles County Superior Court.  Earlier, she won a SLAPP motion, which allows for imposition of mandatory reasonable attorney’s fees and costs against the non-prevailing plaintiff.  She moved for […]

SLAPP: $19,900 Defense Fee Award Affirmed On Appeal, Despite Hefty “Fees On Fees” Motion Request

Cases: SLAPP

However, Certain Costs Were Not Allowed, Incorporating CCP § 1033.5 Restrictions Into SLAPP Costs Recovery.             In Jones v. Reekes, Case No. F082866 (5th Dist. Jan. 9, 2023) (unpublished), plaintiffs losing a SLAPP motion challenged the trial court’s award to the defense of $19,900 in fees (including $3,000 for “fees on fees” efforts) and $414.86

SLAPP: SLAPP Fee And Costs Award Totaling $40,942 Is Sustained On Appeal

Cases: SLAPP

Lower Court’s Reduction Of Request For Excessive “Fees On Fees” Upheld In The Process.             It is hard to overturn the amount of a mandatory fee award unless it shocks the conscience of the judge or justices reviewing the request for fees.  That burden could not be overcome in Koerber v. Project Veritas, Case No.

SLAPP: $49,000 Prevailing Defendant Attorney’s Fees Award Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: SLAPP

Plaintiffs Appealed, To No Avail, Even Though The Lower Court Reduced A Larger Request Of $221,510.50 And A Smaller Alternative Request Of $127,498.69.             This next case, Elliott v. Tyerman, Case No. B316104 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Dec. 22, 2022) (unpublished), illustrates that a litigant who has been hit with a substantially reduced SLAPP fee

SLAPP: Third District Affirms A Lower Court’s Award Of Attorney’s Fees And Costs To Plaintiff After Finding That The Defendants’ SLAPP Motion Was Frivolous

Cases: SLAPP

$72,798.65 In Fees And $1,053.50 In Costs Were The Sustained Awards, Plus The Appellate Court Directed The Lower Court To Award Plaintiff Appellate Fees On Remand.             City of Rocklin v. Legacy Family-Adventures-Rocklin, LLC, Case No. C091172 (3d Dist. Dec. 21, 2022) (published) shows how the narrower SLAPP fee-shifting provision can take a bite, allowing

Appealability, SLAPP: 4/3 DCA Decides That Immediate Appeal Of SLAPP Fee Award Is Not Cognizable

Cases: Appealability, Cases: SLAPP

Appellate Court Sides With One Side In “Irreconcilable Conclusions” On The Appealability Issue.                  In Ibbetson v. Grant, Case No. G060473 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Nov. 30, 2022) (unpublished), the appellate court was faced with the question of whether an anti-SLAPP fee award was immediately appealable after a prior SLAPP order grant or whether it

SLAPP: Lack Of A Reporter’s Transcript And Indication That The Lower Court Did Consider Degree Of Success In Its Order In Awarding SLAPP Fees Led To Sustaining The Fee Award

Cases: SLAPP

$25,795.50 Fee Award Affirmed On Appeal.             An adequate appellate record is a necessity in modern appellate practice, not to say it did not change from being a necessity long ago.  In Beck v. Yozura, Case No. B313689 (2d Dist., Div. 4 Nov. 7, 2022) (unpublished), the trial judge awarded $25,795.50 to a prevailing defendant

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

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