Prevailing Party/Section 1717:  Appellate Reversal And Remand Of Some Claims Also Required Reversal Of Fee Award

Award Was Predicated On A Victory Over All Claims, But Fee Awards Have To Await A Final Resolution.

            A reversal of a merits judgment usually means an ensuing fee award also falls for the time being.  This result occurs because a prevailing party determination under Civil Code section 1717 must await a final resolution on the merits.  This conclusion was reached in Rincon EV Realty LLC v. CP III Rincon Towers, Inc., Case Nos. A139933/A140036 (1^st  Dist., Div. 4 Nov. 28, 2917) (unpublished), which cites these cases as supporting authorities for this proposition:  Hsu v. Abbara, 9 Cal.4^th 863, 876 (1995) [one of our Leading Cases]; Monster, LLC v. Superior Court, 12 Cal.App.5^th 1214, 1229-1230 (2017); Zagami, Inc. v. James A. Crone, Inc., 160 Cal.App.4^th 1083, 1097 (2008); and Gillan v. City of San Marino, 147 Cal.App.4^th 1033, 1053-1054 (2007).