Family Law Judge Basically Found Both Parties Could Bear Expenses And Ex-Wife Overlitigated The Case.
Marriage of Vu and Fearn, Case No. G054234 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Feb. 8, 2018) (unpublished) was a situation where the family law judge awarded $15,000 in Family Code section 271 sanctions against both former spouses but also denied ex-wife’s request for $50,000 in “needs-based” fees under Family Code sections 2030/2032. Ex-wife was confounded, choosing to appeal—but to no avail on the “needs-based” issue. The record below showed no abuse of discretion given the financial situation of each party (including gifts, use of credit card by a friend, and fee rent by parents) and given ex-wife’s “over litigation” of the case through multiple attorneys.
Justice Fybel authored the 3-0 panel decision.