Record Below Showed The Lower Court Pulled The Trigger Too Fast.
Tragni v. Tragni, Case No. A169130 (1st Dist., Div. 5 Aug. 12, 2025) (unpublished) is one of those rare cases where a needs-based family law award to an ex-wife was reversed for an abuse of discretion. We now explore why.
Ex-wife received all requested Family Code 2020/2032 needs-based fees for discovery efforts, to the tune of $165,188.75. Although ex-husband likely could bear it from a financial standpoint, the appellate panel did not believe the lower court reasonably evaluated whether her discovery efforts were reasonable or over-litigated in nature, especially deciding the fee award before a discovery referee came out with rulings. Reversed for a remand on reasonableness of requested fees.