Apportionment Is Not Necessary In This One.
A-Ju Tours, Inc. v. Alleghany Corp., Case Nos. B256956/B259567 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Jan. 14, 2016) (unpublished) is an interesting SLAPP grant, producing a split merits decision as far as the grant on a claim based on the litigation privilege. Later, prevailing defendant moved for $89,460.90 in fees (including all of its efforts in the case based on a contractual fees clause), with the trial judge deciding the fee number was $66,333.72.
The majority determined that an award of all of the fees for the life of the case was justified in this situation, given the existence of a broad contractual fees clause which led the trial judge to award fees for both SLAPP and other activities. Usually, a winning SLAPP defendant has to apportion fees attributable to SLAPP activities, but this decision allows the trial judge to award extra-SLAPP fees as long as the other activities were “on the contract” under Civil Code section 1717 for purposes of fee recovery in the entire litigation matter.