Cases: Standard of Review

Appellate Court Reverses Non-Prevailing Party Determination Because Client Defensed Attorney on Contract Claim In A Jury Trial

Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Standard of Review

Second District Remands For Settling the Reasonable Amount of Attorney’s Fees and Costs.             Usually, prevailing party determinations are reviewed under the abuse of discretion standard on appeal.  Not always, however.  Sometimes the contractual fees clause is clear in specifying a prevailing party and one side wins a final judgment in their […]

Consumer Legal Remedies Act Fee-Shifting Provision—Lower Court’s Remand Determination That Plaintiff Obtained A “Net Monetary Recovery” Compelled An Award Of Attorney’s Fees To Plaintiff

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

Second District, in Kim II, Reverses Denial of Fee to Settling Plaintiff Who Obtained Rescission and Restitution in a “Lemon Porsche” Case.             The nice thing about our blog is that many cases come back to illustrate fee recovery principles or give us a chance to elaborate on past posts.  The next

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

Losing Plaintiff In Casino Marker Case Suffers $400,000 Attorney’s Fees Hit For Losing The Litigation, Two Appeals, And An Appellate Writ Proceeding

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Indemnity, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Standard of Review

Second District Affirms Large Fee Award Based on Indemnification Clause in the Parties’ Banking Account Agreement.             In our July 12, 2008 post, we discussed what type of indemnification clauses can give rise to attorney’s fees exposure, with the upshot being that the answer depends on the specific wording of the clause

Prevailing Defendant Is Not Awarded Costs Under Code of Civil Procedure section 998 Because Token Offers Close to Trial Were Not Reasonable in Nature

Cases: Section 998, Cases: Standard of Review

Sixth District Rejects Awarding Oil Company 998 Costs Against Three Unsuccessful Plaintiffs In Contamination Lawsuit.             Oil Company was found negligent based on the contamination of a predecessor in a prior negligence action.  Later, hundreds of plaintiffs in an adjacent property brought a contamination lawsuit against Oil Company.  The trial court set

Attorney’s Fees Awarded Against Litigant Losing a Code of Civil Procedure Section 128.7 Motion is Appealable and Justified

Cases: Appealability, Cases: Standard of Review

Sixth District Affirms Fee Award Assessed Against Litigant Who Brought Section 128.7 Motion That Was Denied.             In Star Building Systems v. G.W. Davis, Inc., Case No. H032093 (6th Dist. June 27, 2008) (unpublished), plaintiff filed a first amended complaint, after a demurrer was sustained with leave, with an unjust enrichment claim

Routine Costs Can Include Court-Appointed Assistants Necessary to the Litigation and Attorney’s Fees Clauses in Several Agreements Will be Interpreted in an Integrated Fashion

Cases: Costs, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Standard of Review

Fourth District, Division One So Holds In Partnership Dissolution Case.             In our June 27, 2008 post, we examined Roberts v. Ross, a recent Fourth District, Division One unpublished case construing trial court discretion to award certain non-specified, non-prohibited costs as routine costs “necessary for the litigation” under a catchall provision, Code

Breaking News: Supreme Court Denies Review of Harman v. City and County of San Francisco

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Standard of Review, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

Denial of Writ of Certiorari Leaves Court of Appeal Opinion – and Fee Award — Intact.             On June 23, 2008, the Supreme Court of the United States denied the petition for writ of certiorari for San Francisco v Harman, Allen.  —S.Ct.—, 2008 WL 1955817 (U.S. Cal.), 76 USLW 3611.      

PLAINTIFF’S ASSIGNEE—A NONSIGNATORY TO A CONTRACT—AND ASSIGNOR—A CONTRACT SIGNATORY—BOTH HIT WITH $1.4 MILLION FEE AWARD AFTER DEFENDANT PREVAILS IN ASSIGNEE’S LITIGATION

Cases: Appealability, Cases: Assignment, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Standard of Review

Second District Affirms Fee Award Against Both Assignor and Assignee Based on California Wholesale and the Assignor’s Surety Status.             One of the time-honored principles in assignment law is that assignee’s voluntary acceptance of benefits normally means consent to bear the burdens from the assignment.  Civil Code sec. 1589.   However, the assignor

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