$29,357.35 Lemon Law Fee Award May Need To Be Increased Somewhat On Remand.
We have to say that appellate courts try to “telegraph” to litigants what needs to be done when there is a limited remand where fee recovery is involved. That is what happened in Crayton v. FCA US, LLC, Case Nos. B294528 et al. (2d Dist., Div. 5 Mar. 30, 2021) (partially published; fee discussion not published).
Plaintiff won $86,953 in a car lemon law case. He then sought $142,183.50 in fees under the Song-Beverly Act, but the trial judge awarded only $29,357.35 based on the fees incurred before the defense admitted liability. The 2/5 DCA reversed the compensatory award, because plaintiff was entitled to some registration renewal and insurance fees as part of the lemon law compensatory award. That meant that the fee recovery had to be reversed, with the appellate court signaling that the remand consideration should focus on the increased fees incurred to obtain any further compensatory damages and maybe something for winning on appeal.