Reasonableness Of Fees: Court Of Appeal Reversed And Remanded A 50% Haircut For Further Explanation Where There Was A Civil Code § 1717 Basis For Fees

There Needed To Be More Explanation For The Fee Reduction.

Unfortunately, there is no bright-line rule relating to lower court fee “haircuts” at the state court level, although some civil rights decision may suggest there is.  On the federal level, the Moreno from the Ninth Circuitsays that a fee haircut over 10% needs an explanation.  Although unpublished at the California state court level, in Bardis v. Simonian, Case No. H052733 et al. (6^th Dist. Feb. 23, 2026) (unpublished), the appellate court could not fathom a lower court’s 50% reduction of fees in a Civil Code section 1717 property case, remanding for a revisit of why the fees were reduced this much given no detailed explanation for the haircut.