Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

Fee Substantiation: When Trial Court Bases Denial Of Fees On Independent Grounds, Address Both Grounds On Appeal Or Face Affirmance For Failure To Rebut Correctness Of Trial Court Ruling

Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

Second District, Division 5 Sustains Fee Denial Based on Failure to Address Fee Substantiation Inadequacies.      The next case we examine teaches a staple of appellate law: make sure you address all of the trial court’s reasons for a ruling on appeal. If you don’t, risk having the appellate court affirming based on the failure […]

Class Actions: Lodestar/Multiplier Determinations Remanded In Private Attorney General Statute Fee Award

Cases: Class Actions, Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Multipliers, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

Court of Appeal Also Decides Prejudgment Interest Not Allowable on Fee Awards.      Okay, so who says we don’t try to give you readers a synopsis of decisions (even though some might be a little wordy)? The next decision—Woosley v. State of California, Case No. B209890 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Apr. 16, 2010) (unpublished)—involves some

Lemon Law: $170,000 Attorney Fee Recovery Sustained In Song-Beverly Act Case Involving Mobilehome

Cases: Consumer Statutes, Cases: Lodestar, Cases: Multipliers, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

Fourth District, Division 1 Sustains Lower Court Determination Based on Its Experience With Hourly Rates.      In Cauchon v. Forest River, Inc., Case Nos. D053864/D054433 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Apr. 9, 2010) (unpublished), mobilehome purchasers did well in a Song-Beverly Act Warranty Act suit with a mandatory fee-shifting statute in favor of prevailing plaintiffs. Purchasers

Fee Substantiation: $199,607 Fee Award Affirmed Based On Lack Of Specificity In Framing Unreasonableness Challenge

Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

  Attorney Declaration as to Hourly Rates and Description of Work Adequately Substantiated Fee Petition Claims.      Defendant contractor and its president, sole shareholder, sole director, and sole employee (found to be the alter ego of the contractor) were found liable for $670,923 in damages in a construction defect lawsuit to purchasers of the Livermore

Probate: Court Of Appeal Reverses $5.2 Million Fee Awards To Former Trustee And His Attorneys in Beneficiary Self-Dealing/Conflict Litigation

Cases: Probate, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

Fourth District, Division 3 Finds That Fee Recordkeeping and Trust Litigation Expenses Must Be Scrutinzed Closely to Determine if Fees Were Reasonable and Appropriate From a Trust Benefitting Perspective.      Donahue v. Donahue, Case Nos. G040628/G041503 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Feb. 24, 2010) (certified for publication), is sure to be a widely cited opinion when

Homeowners Associations: Substantial Attorney’s Fees Awards In Favor Of Adjoining Neighbors and HOA Sustained On Appeal

Cases: Homeowner Associations, Cases: Standard of Review, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

Almost $500,000 in Total Fees Assessed Against Losing Homeowners.      For all you Olympic watchers out there, this next case will resonate the famous “agony of defeat” line from ABC’s Wide World of Sports.      In Sharp v. Anderson, Case No. B212528 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Feb. 18, 2010) (unpublished), plaintiff neighboring real property owners

California Disabled Persons Act: State Appellate Decision Finds That ADA Does Not Preempt, So Prevailing Defendant Entitled To Fee Award Without Showing Action Was Frivolous, Unreasonable, Or Groundless

Cases: Civil Rights, Cases: Preemption, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

First District, Division 4 Disagrees with Ninth Circuit’s Hubbard Decisions.      In our July 3, 2008 and January 12, 2009 posts, we discussed the Ninth Circuit’s Hubbard decisions (Hubbard v. SoBreck, LLC, 531 F.2d 983 (9th Cir. 2008) and Hubbard v. SoBreck, LLC, 554 F.3d 742 (9th Cir. 2009)), which held that a mandatory award

Indemnity And Apportionment: $402,596.40 Fee Award Affirmed In Refusal To Defend Dispute

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Discovery, Cases: Indemnity, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

Sixth District Found Opposing Party Forfeited Challenge to Billing Record Objections When It Failed to Attack Omissions Through Discovery Motion.      In the next case, the Sixth District—in UDC-Universal Development, L.P. v. CH2M Hill, Case No. H033862 (6th Dist. Jan. 22, 2010) (unpublished)—affirmed a $402,596.40 fee award under a contractual provision when sustaining a trial

Reasonableness Of Fees: Fifth District Gives Us Some Insights Into Their Thinking On the Subject

Cases: Reasonableness of Fees, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

Except for Complaint in Intervention Fees, Court of Appeal Sustains $1,764,222.50 Fee Award.      For those of you practicing in California’s Central Valley (or, for that matter, attorneys wanting some more insight into how judges gauge the reasonableness of fees), stay tuned for the next one.      The Fifth District, in Ennis Commercial Properties, LLC

Costs Deadline, Fee Substantiation and Allocation: Fees/Costs Awarded In Anti-Speculation Liquidated Damages Clause Dispute Affirmed In Favor Of Developer

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Costs, Cases: Deadlines, Cases: Substantiation of Reasonableness of Fees

Liquidated Damages Clause Found Valid; Fees/Costs Award Sustained Also.      This next decision should be of substantive interest to both developers and our readers interested in fee issues.      Although unpublished, Beck Properties, Inc. v. Hameed, Case No. C058279 (Dec. 11, 2009) decided that an anti-speculation clause in a purchase agreement between a developer and

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