Family Code Section 271 Sanctions Award Also Upheld on Appeal. Marriage of Pitto and Behrendt, Case No. A126802/A127429 (1st Dist., Div. 3 June 29, 2012) (unpublished), involving a relatively short marriage, does reinforce certain lessons for us, basically two in number. Number 1 is this. A substantial $354,542 fee award was sustained […]
Appellate Court Tells Everyone That Some Claims May Not Be Compensable. Homeowner Association (HOA)/homeowner disputes seem to be very acrimonious. However, depending on who prevails, there may be fee exposure under Civil Code section 1354 (CC&R enforcement) or Civil Code section 1717 (contractual fee enforcement). But, each side may have to wait until
Cross-Complaint Was A Separate, Simultaneous Action Subject to Mediation Condition Precedent. As it now stands, a litigant subject to a CAR form contract often faces an attorney’s fees clause requiring mediation first except for certain situations (lis pendens action, unlawful detainer, and a few others). Obviously, this restriction applies to a litigant commencing
Assignment of Interests in Probated Estates Focuses on Probate Code section 11604. Part of doing this blog is that we get to learn different substantive areas. Today, we learned something in the area of probate law. In Estate of Castrillo, Case No. A133446 (1st Dist., Div. 4 June 28, 2012) (unpublished), an
Defense Might Prevail In End, So Let’s Wait and See. We predicted in our May 27 and June 5, 2012 posts that Frog Creek Partners, LLC v. Vance Brown, Inc., 206 Cal.App.4th 515 (2012) would be an oft-cited decision when dealing with prevailing party status for fee purposes where there are interim successes
Both Sides Appealed, Both Sides Did Not Gain Anything Upon Review. In County of San Bernardino v. San Bernardino County Public Attorneys Assn., Case Mp/ E051576 (4th Dist., Div. 2 June 26, 2012) (unpublished), County lost a SLAPP motion and was assessed $49,500 through an adverse mandatory fee award (even though the defense
Gifts, Thank You Notes, Flowers, and Concert Tickets No Substitute For Ms. Love’s Monetary Payments. Recent posts at TMZ and Rolling Stone tell us that Courtney Love is being sued in Los Angeles by Keith A. Fink & Associates for $466,029.41 in unpaid legal fees for 10 months of intensive work in 2009.
Defense Set Up Bad Faith By Sending Litigation Communicative Warnings to Loser Which Showed Claim Was Stale. We have discussed Civil Code section 3426.4 several times. This provision allows a court to discretionarily award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to a prevailing party where a claim of trade secret misappropriation was made in
CCP § 996.480(a)(2) So Mandates. In Jovanovic v. Abel, Case No. A131578 (1st Dist., Div. 4 June 27, 2012) (unpublished), plaintiffs successfully obtained a preliminary injunction to stop a foreclosure of a multi-unit condominium project by some hard money lenders/investors, but had to post a $90,000 injunction bond as a condition of the
Bus. & Prof. Code Section 6148 Did Not Compel Different Result. The First District, Division 2 in Estate of Wong, Case No. A132295 (1st Dist., Div. 2 June 27, 2012) (published) decided that attorneys were not foreclosed from obtaining a court award for fees from a probate estate for performing ordinary services under
