Trial Court Based It On Wrong Document, But Settlement Agreement Confirmed the Result.
In Jayaweera v. Lansberg, Case No. D065800 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Nov. 25, 2014) (unpublished), a trial court awarded a certain side prevailing in an easement dispute $82,174.25 in attorney’s fees under a Declaration of Restrictions (easement), a ruling challenged by the opponents when they argued there was no basis for fee entitlement based on this document. Actually, the appellate court did not disagree, but affirmed the award under the rule that a correct result—even if based on erroneous reasoning—still confirms a result below. Here, there was a separate settlement agreement binding the losing parties and successors/assigns (the winning parties), such that the fee award was justified under Civil Code section 1717.