SLAPP Fee Award For One Defendant Group Affirmed; SLAPP Fee Denial Against Another Defendant Affirmed.
In Christiansen v. Gross, Case No. B256668 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Jan. 8, 2016) (unpublished), plaintiff was SLAPP-ed by two defendant groups. However, the trial judge determined that one defendant group should receive $37,320, while another defendant group (lawyers) was denied requested fees of $214,653.75.
Everything held up on appeal by both plaintiff and the losing defendant group.
The problem with the appeal by plaintiff as to the prevailing fee defendant group was that the appeal happened to be premature, given it was made before the trial court fixed the fees. As far as the cross-appeal by the losing defendant group, the defect was that the group constituted attorneys representing themselves such that they were barred under Trope, with the argument that the attorneys were indemnified by a different third party not impacting the analysis at all.