Lower Court Substantially Cut Defense Counsel’s Claimed Hours And Cut The Hourly Rate Request.
In Mirjafarifiroozabadi v. Man, Case No. G066134 (4th Dist., Div. 3 July 31, 2026) (unpublished), plaintiff’s entire Complaint was dismissed after the defense won a SLAPP motion. Defense counsel then moved for attorney’s fees, claiming 34.10 hours of work at a $750 hourly rate. The trial court determined both requests were excessive, cutting the hours down to 11.4 and the hourly rate down to $650, resulting in a fee award of $7,410, plus costs of $956.79 to the defense. The 4/3 DCA, in a 3-0 opinion authored by Acting Presiding Justice Delaney, affirmed. At the outset, appellant presented an inadequate record because he failed to present the opening fee motion paperwork. However, on the merits, no abuse of discretion occurred given the substantial reduction made by the lower court to the SLAPP fee request. Appellant argued that the lower court should have considered his financial hardship, but he cited an inapposite case stating that this is a factor to be considered when a prevailing plaintiff beats a SLAPP motion (Durkin v. City & County of San Francisco, 90 Cal.App.5th 643, 651(2023)), the opposite of what occurred here.