Follows the Lead of Division 5 in Garcia v. Politis.
In our February 26, 2011 post, we synopsized Garcia v. Politis, 192 Cal.App.4th 1474 (2011), where the Second District, Division 5 determined that default judgment attorney’s fees could not be recovered through a postjudgment fee motion but had to be recouped through a request made in papers filed with the default judgment prove-up packet.
Now, the Second District, Division 1 has followed Garcia in a case brought by the same plaintiff denied fee recovery in the earlier case. (In this instance, plaintiff was denied recovery of $3,272.50 in fees as prevailing party under the Unruh and Disabled Persons Act, Civ. Code, §§ 52(a), 54.3(a), 55.)
Division 1, in Mundy v. The Reel Inn Corp., Case No B223655 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Apr. 12, 2011) (unpublished), aptly summarized its bottom line conclusion this way: “We agree with Garcia and see no reason to depart from its well-reasoned analysis.” (Slip Opn., p. 3.)