Reasonableness Of Fees/Substantiation Of Fees: Detailed Time Entries, Even Without Billings, Supported $192,678.98 Fees/Costs Award Even Though Compensatory Damages Were Only $44,960.32

 

Trial Court Showed Discretion Exercised by Slicing $34,630.75 From Fee Request.

     Just to show you that fee awards do not have to be proportional to damages and that California does not absolutely require fee billings as substantiation, we refer readers to A-Z Bus. Sales, Inc. v. City of Burbank, Case Nos. B244867/B247187 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Mar. 13, 2014) (unpublished).

     There, plaintiff won a contract dispute against City, recovering damages of $44,960.32. Then, the lower court awarded attorney’s fees and costs of $192,678.98 to plaintiff, reducing the requested fee demand by $34,630.75.

     City’s appeal of the fees/costs award did not prevail.

     It argued that there was improper substantiation, but the appellate court noted the 30 pages of detailed time entries in an attorney declaration sufficed because California does not absolutely require submission of billing statements. (Raining Data Corp. v. Barrenechea, 175 Cal.App.4^th 1363, 1375 (2009).)

     Also, the award was not excessive, with the record below showing the trial court did make a sizable reduction and the amount was in order given a lot of activity in the case-- multiple pretrial motions, a jury trial lasting several days, and a post-trial motion for new trial.