Case Demonstrates That Enforcement Fees May Eclipse The Underlying Small Fee Award By Exponential Amounts.
In Nash v. Aprea, Case No. B322796 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Oct. 3, 2023) (published), a default judgment of $59,191 was entered against defendant, with $1,000 of that being contractual attorney’s fees because the contract capped recoverable fees at that amount. Later, the lower court awarded plaintiffs $27,721 in post-judgment enforcement fees under CCP § 685.040. Because the underlying judgment did have a fee award (although small), this predicate justified enforcement fees even though they were almost 30 times more than the nominal fee award.