Husband Had Sought $37,000 Sanctions Award.
Ex-husband, who had spent $165,000 in fees on his own dissolution attorney and had paid ex-wife $119,650 through previous pendent lite attorney’s fees, was frustrated when the trial judge ordered him to pay yet an additional $60,000 in 2030/2032 fees to wife and only sanctioned her $3,000 under section 271 for three instances of misconduct (rather than the $37,000 he requested).
In his subsequent appeal in Marriage of Blas and Rivera, Case No. D066720 (4th Dist., Div. 2 Jan. 25, 2018) (unpublished), he was unable to obtain a reversal based on not being able to surmount the deferential abuse of discretion standard of review. Ex-wife certainly had more limited resources from a financial perspective, and the lower court believed that even the $3,000 sanctions award would be a stretch for her given that she only had $3,000 cash in the bank.
The 3-0 opinion was authored by Justice Richard T. Fields, who was confirmed to the 4/2 DCA in February 2017.