$182,000 Fee Award To Defendant Affirmed On Appeal.
In Newport Harbor Offices & Marina, LLC v. High Seas Yacht Charters, LLC, Case Nos. G054706/G054877 (4th Dist., Div. 3 June 24, 2019) (unpublished), plaintiff landlord and defendant tenant got involved in a major tussle over office space and bloat slips leased to tenant defendant. Landlord filed an unlawful detainer action, tenant vacated, and the evolving court dispute for eviction was consolidated with landlord’s suit for damages. Landlord lost; tenant won, beating landlord’s claims for damages.
The trial court was then barraged with dueling fee motions. It found that both parties prevailed, such that landlord was entitled to fees of $47,000 and tenant was entitled to fees of $232,000, resulting in a net fees award of $182,000 to tenant. Landlord appealed.
The 4/3 DCA, in a 3-0 opinion authored by Justice Thompson, affirmed. The panel believed it was error for the lower court to determine that both parties partially prevailed for purposes of a contractual fees award. However, it was clear that tenant indeed prevailed: possession was no longer at issue and landlord gained no victory on damages at all. So, tenant achieved its main litigation objectives, see de la Cuesta v. Benham, 193 Cal.App.4th 1287, 1295-1296 (2011), such that the ending award was correct even if based on incorrect reasoning.