Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Successful Plaintiffs’ Counsel In Song-Beverly Act Case Is Awarded $545,723 In Cumulative Fees/Costs After Winning Case At Trial Level And Prevailing In Two Appeals

Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes, Cases: Standard of Review

Fifth District Affirms Trial Court’s Fee Enhancement Award Upon Remand.             In Robertson v. Fleetwood Travel Trailers of California, Inc., 144 Cal.App.4th 785 (2006) (Robertson I), the Fifth District Court of Appeal affirmed a jury verdict in favor of plaintiffs (a couple) for Fleetwood’s failure to repair their defective travel trailer and

Homeowner Saddled With Bearing $348,468 Adverse Fee Judgment Awarded To Unpaid Contractor Under Civil Code Section 3260

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

First District, Division Three Affirms Large Fee Award and Adds Costs on Appeal in Favor of Contractor.             Fee shifting statutes can have disastrous consequences, shifting the risk allocation in dramatic fashion such that fees get awarded to a winning party even though they dwarf the amount at issue in the underlying

Third District Directs that Market Rates Be Used In Private Attorney General Land Use Fee Proceeding And Rejects That Fees Were Not Necessary For Private Enforcement Of Appropriate Environmental Review

Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Appellate Court Reverses Trial Court’s Reliance on Contract Hourly Rates and Overturns Its Erroneous Determination That Litigation Was Unnecessary.             This post should be of particular interest to land use and environmental attorneys, showing how appellate courts take interest in making sure private attorney general fee awards are fair to litigants truly

Disabled Plaintiff Awarded Attorney’s Fees Under Unruh Act in Unpublished Decision Even Though He Lost in Same Day Published Decision

Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Second District, Division Six Finds For Disabled Plaintiff in Unpublished Decision.             In our July 8, 2008 post, we reviewed the Second District, Division Six’s published decision of Molski v. Arciero Wine Group, in which the appellate court affirmed a fee award against Mr. Molski and in favor of a prevailing defendant

Second District, Division Six Decides that a Prevailing Defendant in a Civil Code Section 55 Injunctive Case is Entitled to Attorney’s Fees Award Even Where Plaintiff’s Claims Were Not Frivolous, Unreasonable or Groundless

Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Court of Appeal Is First To Answer Unsettled Question Noted in Our July 3, 2008 Post.             On July 3, 2008, we posted a discussion of  Hubbard v. SoBreck, LLC, a Ninth Circuit case that found an award of attorney’s fees to a prevailing defendant in federal court—granted under California’s Disabled Persons

Trustees Fees Are Not Awardable Under the Elder Abuse Act’s Fee-Shifting Provision and $1 Million Attorney’s Fees Award Reversed as Excessive

Cases: Appealability, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Second District, Division Three Rules on Scope and Reasonableness of Certain Fees Under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.5.             Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.5, one segment of California’s Elder Abuse Act, is a mandatory fee-shifting provision.  In relevant part, section 15657.5 provides:  “(a) Where it is proven by a preponderance

Shasta Superior Court Judge Awards Newspaper $36,288 in Attorney’s Fees Under California Public Records Act

Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Government Code Section 6259(d) Provides for Mandatory Fee Award to Prevailing Plaintiff.             California has a Public Records Act (CPRA), Government Code sections 6250-6276.48, modeled after the federal Freedom of Information Act.  Persons can request release of certain public records, subject to exemptions, and can sue to compel release of documents from

Reversal and Remand of Damage Award Likely Means that Fee Award Under a 998 Offer Also Gets Reversed

Cases: Section 998, Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Fourth District, Division One Does Just That In Consumer Legal Remedies Act/Song-Beverly Act Case.             The Song-Beverly Act, Civil Code section 1790 et seq., is a legislatively-crafted scheme to protect consumers buying certain personal goods from defects and providing replacement/repair directives under certain conditions.  Section 1794(d) of the Song-Beverly Act provides for

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