Trial Judge Did Reduce Award From Requested $132,036.50 In Fees, Despite Prevailing Party Winning Only $16.259.41 In Compensatory Damages.
Westside Investments, Inc. v. Dolberry, Case No. B299033 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Apr. 20, 2021) (unpublished) was a situation where plaintiff won a contractual case involving an automobile lease to the tune of $16,259.41 in compensatory damages after some offsets. Prevailing party then moved for $132,036,50 in contractual fees, with the lower court awarding $102,036.50.
That award was affirmed on appeal, despite the primary defendant’s appeal of the fee award.
Challenges for apportionment (given another defendant) and with respect to unreasonableness were forfeited, because they were not raised below. That left the principal challenge—prevailing party’s lead counsel was a majority shareholder in prevailing party such that he would be disqualified under Trope principles. Not so much, said the 2/7 DCA. The actual litigant was the prevailing plaintiff, not the attorney, such that the indirect benefit to the attorney, as a shareholder, was too remote and did not deflect from the undisputed fact that there was an independent relationship between prevailing party and its lead attorney. Fee award affirmed.