Postjudgment Enforcement—Harris v. Otttovich, Case Nos. A139146 et al. (1st Dist., Div. 5 June 2, 2015) (unpublished).
In this one, former landlords lost a wrongful eviction suit and the lower court awarded tenant $48,000 in postjudgment collection/enforcement fees under CCP § 685.040. Landlords argued that, because there was no contract with a fees clause, no postjudgment fees were recoverable under section 685.040, but this was wrong as a matter of law—685.040 does not have this limitation. (Conservatorship of McQueen, 59 Cal.4th 602, 614 (2014).)
Section 998 – Swan v. Tesconi, Case No. A138119 (1st Dist., Div. 3 June 2, 2015) (unpublished).
Tenant sued for inhabitability conditions in rented premises, with the landlord (defense) sending out a 998 offer for $32,000 excluding reasonable attorney’s fees but requiring a request for dismissal with prejudice. Tenant refused because the 998 offer was deemed to be ambiguous, after consulting with some attorneys specializing in fees matters. Eventually, the parties stipulated to a $32,000 judgment with each side reserving the right to seek fees and costs. Tenant won $273,071.25 in fees and $15,751.26 in costs as the prevailing party under both contractual fee clauses and CCP § 1032, with the lower court denying the defense motion for recovery of fees/costs under the 998 offer. Defendant, on appeal, argued that he won based on the 998 offer, but both the trial and appellate courts found that the 998 offer was ambiguous. The main reason was that the requirement for plaintiff to voluntarily dismiss the case with prejudice did not allow plaintiff to divine the defense costs which tenant might be exposed to. (Chinn v. KMR Prop. Mgt., 166 Cal.App.4th 175, 190 (2008).) What the defense could have done to be clearer was to specify each side would bear their own costs, to specify the defense was waiving costs, or to provide for a judgment entry mechanism rather than a dismissal. Also, the offer was unclear as to whether plaintiff could recoup fees under Santisas, based on the impact of the voluntarily dismissal.