Family Law: Attorney’s Fees Provision In Settlement Agreement Trumped Attempt To Obtain Family Code Section 271 Sanctions

 

Parties’ Bargain Prevailed, With Fees Only Relating To Litigation To Two Specific Motions—Sweeping Away Prior Sanctions Awards.

     Family law practitioners should read In re Marriage of Reed, Case Nos. B253728/B255233 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Oct. 21, 2015) (unpublished). Briefly summarized, it held that a specific settlement agreement clause on fee recovery blunted any recovery of prior Family Code section 271 sanctions because the language only allowed fee recovery for further litigation of two different motions before the family law judge. The case obviously enforced the parties’ bargain, containing a nice discussion of use of intent and extrinsic circumstances factors in construing contractual language.