Did Not Matter That Plaintiff Nixed Earlier Settlement Offer.
In Ruiz v. U.S. Security Associates, Inc., Case No. B275201 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Mar. 28, 2017) (unpublished), a FEHA plaintiff accepted a CCP § 998 offer, reserving fee recovery to the trial judge. Plaintiff obtained a $ 481,100 fee recovery even though requesting a lodestar of $645,782 plus a 1.5 multiplier for a total request of $968,673. On appeal, the defense argued "still too much," but the appellate court found the trial court reduction (including reduction of hourly fees by $150 per hour across the board) was fair. It also did not matter that plaintiff had nixed an earlier settlement offer with respect to amount of fees ultimately decided at the trial court level.
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