Recent Articles
Probate, Reasonableness Of Fees: Probate Court’s Denial Of Successor Trustee’s Request For Attorney’s Fees Properly Denied
The Fee Request Correctly Denied Because Trustee Breached The Trust, Sought To Recover Impermissible Fees Defending Her Removal, And Were Unreasonable In Nature. Estate of…
Section 998: Where Plaintiff Only Obtained A $15,835 Personal Injury Jury Verdict, After Rejecting An Earlier CCP § 988 Offer For $50,000, Plaintiff Properly Was Saddled With Post-Judgment Costs Of The Defense
Plaintiff’s Failure To Develop A Reasoned Appellate Argument For Reversal Doomed The Appeal. In Cardeas v. Solorzano, Case No. A172766 et al. (1st Dist., Div….
Homeowner Associations: $816,260.08 Fee/Costs Award Under Davis-Stirling Act Fee Shifting Provision Affirmed On Appeal In HOA’s/Affiliates’ Favor
Case Shows How These Disputes Can Be Heartbreaking For Either Side. Burnside v. 1545 Broadway Homeowners Assn., Case No. A171368 et al. (1st Dist., Div….
Arbitration: Where A Party Prevailed After Multiple Appeals And After Post-Arbitration Proceedings In Which Consumer Loan Interest/Loan Fee Provisions Were Voided, The Award Of Prevailing Party Fees Totaling $900,718 Was Proper
A Final Determination Was Made: Client Prevailed, And To The Victor Went The Spoils –Substantial Attorney’s Fees. Once again, Law Finance Group, LLC v. Key,…
SLAPP: Partially Prevailing Defendant’s SLAPP Fee Request Was Properly Denied By The Lower Court
Defense Motion Only Knocked Out An Injunctive Relief Remedy And One Other Claim Which Had Factual Issues Still Remaining On Non-Stricken Claims. In Bagish v….
Costs: $38,568.63 Costs Award For Administrative Record Preparation In Favor Of Prevailing City Was Affirmed On Appeal
Plaintiff’s Failure To Include The Costs Memorandum Was Fatal. Citizens Against Marketplace Apt./Condominium Development v. City of San Ramon, Case Nos. A170988 et al. (1st…
Special Fee Shifting Statutes: CCP § 473(a) Does Not Allow A Lower Court To Award Attorney’s Fees As A Condition Of Allowing An Amendment To Pleadings
4/1 DCA Disagreed With Treatise Commentary And An Older, Antiquated Supreme Court Case To The Contrary. In Amezcua v. Superior Court, Case No. D087216 (4th…
Family Law: Trial Court Abused Its Discretion By Basing Denial Of Section 2030 Fees And Costs Request On Grandmother’s Misuse Of Grandchildren’s 529 Accounts And Her Lack Of A Significant Relationship With Grandchildren
The Trial Court Was Required To Issue An Award Based On Whether Mandatory Findings Demonstrated Disparity In Access To Funds And Ability To Pay. In…
Appeal Sanctions, Ethics, Sanctions, SLAPP: 1/4 DCA Affirms $41,580 Attorney’s Fees Award Against Self-Represented Appellant For Previous Appeal, Imposes $10,000 In Sanctions For Frivolous Appeal, And Remands To Lower Court For Award Against Appellant For Fees Incurred By Respondent On Latest Appeal
In A Masterclass Of What Not To Do On Appeal, Self-Represented Appellant Challenged A Fee Award Ordered Against Him By Rehashing Issues Determined Previously On…
Interest, Special Fee Shifting Statutes: In A False Claims Act Case, Postjudgment Interest Ran From The Date Of A Fees Award, Not An Earlier Order Confirming A Settlement
Earlier Order Did Not Qualify As A Money Judgment. Agreeing and disagreeing with some other circuits, the Ninth Circuit in Thrower v. Academy Mortgage Corp.,…
Multipliers, Special Fee Shifting Statutes: Ninth Circuit Reverses and Remands A Multiplier Award In A False Claims Case, Disagreeing On The Merits Of The Award, But Agreeing That The Reason For The Enhancement Was Not Specific Enough.
Dissenting Circuit Judge M. Smith concluded that the district court acted within its discretion in determining this case to be “rare and exceptional” and thereby…
In The News . . . . OpEd Article In April 6, 2026 Issue Of The Orange County Register Shows That PAGA Lawsuits And Settlements Have Soared
Attorney Payouts Highlighted In The Article. Tom Manzo, founder of the California Business and Industrial Alliance, wrote an OpEd piece, “Will state get serious about…
Lodestar, Retainer Agreements: After Lower Court Determined That Retainer Agreement Was Unconscionable And Determined Client Owed Nothing Under A Quantum Meruit Recovery, The Appellate Court Reduced The Contractual Fee Award To Client For Dilatory Conduct
This Case Shows How, Even On Appeal, Justices Will Try To Balance Equity On Fee Awards. In Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae v. Yakobi,…
Family Law: Under A Marital Settlement Agreement’s Prevailing Party Fee Clause, The Family Law Judge Can Consider Financial Needs Of The Litigants, Namely, Family Code Section 2030 And 2032 Factors
Civil Code Section 1717 Lodestar Factors Alone Do Not Restrict The Family Court In Deciding Prevailing Party Contractual Fees. Marriage of Bowman, Case No. B331924…
Equity: Two Of Our Readers Obtained An Award Of Attorney’s Fees And Costs For Their Client (A Defendant/Cross-Complainant) As A Condition Of A Superior Court’s Order Equitably Vacating A Default Against A Cross-Defendant
This Is One Of The Larger Fee/Costs Award We Have Seen In This Area, But The Fees And Costs Encompassed Several Other Pre-Trial Proceedings On…
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Probate, Reasonableness Of Fees: Probate Court’s Denial Of Successor Trustee’s Request For Attorney’s Fees Properly Denied
The Fee Request Correctly Denied Because Trustee Breached The Trust, Sought To Recover Impermissible Fees Defending Her Removal, And Were Unreasonable In Nature. Estate of Disney, Case No. A171426 (1st Dist., Div. 2 Apr. 28, 2026) (unpublished) was a situation where successor trustee of grandmother’s trust was granted trustee’s and attorney’s fees/costs of a substantial…
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Section 998: Where Plaintiff Only Obtained A $15,835 Personal Injury Jury Verdict, After Rejecting An Earlier CCP § 988 Offer For $50,000, Plaintiff Properly Was Saddled With Post-Judgment Costs Of The Defense
Plaintiff’s Failure To Develop A Reasoned Appellate Argument For Reversal Doomed The Appeal. In Cardeas v. Solorzano, Case No. A172766 et al. (1st Dist., Div. 2 Apr. 28, 2026) (unpublished), plaintiff obtained a $15,835 jury verdict in a personal injury car crash case, after rejecting a defense CCP § 998 offer of $50.000. The lower…
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Homeowner Associations: $816,260.08 Fee/Costs Award Under Davis-Stirling Act Fee Shifting Provision Affirmed On Appeal In HOA’s/Affiliates’ Favor
Case Shows How These Disputes Can Be Heartbreaking For Either Side. Burnside v. 1545 Broadway Homeowners Assn., Case No. A171368 et al. (1st Dist., Div. 2 Apr. 28, 2026) (unpublished) shows how HOA-homeowners cases, with respect to fee and costs recovery by a victory, echo the famous sports retort “the thrill of victory and the…
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Arbitration: Where A Party Prevailed After Multiple Appeals And After Post-Arbitration Proceedings In Which Consumer Loan Interest/Loan Fee Provisions Were Voided, The Award Of Prevailing Party Fees Totaling $900,718 Was Proper
A Final Determination Was Made: Client Prevailed, And To The Victor Went The Spoils –Substantial Attorney’s Fees. Once again, Law Finance Group, LLC v. Key, Case Nos. B338733 et al. (2d Dist., Div. 2 Apr. 27, 2026) (unpublished) confirms that the victor in arbitration proceedings, which may entail having to overturn an adverse arbitration award…
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SLAPP: Partially Prevailing Defendant’s SLAPP Fee Request Was Properly Denied By The Lower Court
Defense Motion Only Knocked Out An Injunctive Relief Remedy And One Other Claim Which Had Factual Issues Still Remaining On Non-Stricken Claims. In Bagish v. Sarraf, Case No. B344027 (2d Dist., Div. 4 Apr. 27, 2026) (unpublished), defendant’s SLAPP motion was granted and denied in part, with the defense knocking out an injunctive relief request…
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Costs: $38,568.63 Costs Award For Administrative Record Preparation In Favor Of Prevailing City Was Affirmed On Appeal
Plaintiff’s Failure To Include The Costs Memorandum Was Fatal. Citizens Against Marketplace Apt./Condominium Development v. City of San Ramon, Case Nos. A170988 et al. (1st Dist., Div. 5 Apr. 24, 2026) (partially published; costs discussion not published) dealt with a $38,568.63 costs award to City for administrative record preparation in a case where it prevailed…