Escrow Holder Entitled to Fee Against Losing Broker.
When it comes to contractual agreements not subject to any extrinsic evidence, appellate courts will construe them independently to see if fee entitlement was either properly granted or denied. In Nelson v. Peirce, Case No. B250609 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Sept. 29, 2015) (unpublished), the Second District, Division 1 reversed the denial of fees to a prevailing escrow holder when the panoply of closing documents—the escrow instructions, purchase agreement, and other papers—showed that escrow holder and losing broker were encompassed within the scope of an attorney’s fee provision. Given this contractual relationship, Civil Code section 1717 was triggered to give reciprocity, meaning the clause could not be limited to just certain escrow charges but encompassed attorney’s fees as well. (Kangarlou v. Progressive Title Co., Inc., 128 Cal.App.4th 1174, 1177-1178 (2005).) Reversed to have fees reassessed as to escrow holder.