Fees/Costs Were Justified Under Family Code Section 6344(a).
Under Family Code section 6344(a), a trial court may award attorney’s fees and costs to a prevailing party in a proceeding concerning a domestic violence restraining order after notice and a hearing on the issue. This provision was squarely at issue in the next case we examine.
In Loeffler v. Medina, Case No. D053096 (4th Dist., Div. 1 June 18, 2009) (certified for publication), ex-live-ins had their battles resulting in entry of a domestic violence restraining order against the gentleman in the relationship. The gentleman tried to terminate the restraining order, but was unsuccessful after a fairly contentious proceeding. The trial court awarded the prosecuting lady $25,000 in attorney’s fees and $1,504.85 in costs (out of a requested $45,842.50 in fees and $2,934.85 in costs).
The gentleman appealed.
Contrasted Husbands. July 1795. Richard Newton, artist. Library of Congress.
And lost.
The decision to not terminate the restraining order was grounded in section 6344(a), not the “sanctions” provision in Family Code section 271. So, there was statutory fee entitlement basis for the award.
The appealing gentleman argued that he only spent $5,000 to litigate the case whereas his opposition spent approximately $50,000. He challenged the award on reasonableness, it “shocks the conscience” because of its amount. Given that the amount of a fee award is a matter for discretion and can only be reversed if the amount shows it was the result of passion or prejudice (Akins v. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co., 79 Cal.App.4th 1127, 1134 (2000)), gentleman could not obtain reversal under this standard. His opponent had submitted detailed billing records, and no specific item of fees or costs was questioned. Given the reduction in fees by nearly one half, no abuse of discretion was evident on the record before the appellate panel.
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