Special Fee Shifting Statute: Civil Code Section 3334(a), Allowing For Recovery Of Certain Costs In Encroachment Actions, Does Not Provide Entitlement For Recovery Of Attorney’s Fees

 

Statute Did Not Talk About Fees.

     Civil Code section 3334, subdivision (a) provides, in part: “The detriment caused by the wrongful occupation of real property . . . is deemed to include the value of the use of the property for the time of that wrongful occupation . . . and the costs, if any, of recovering the possession.” In Salazar v. Matejcek, Case No. A144106 (1^st Dist., Div. 1 Mar. 10, 2016) (partially published; fee discussion not published), plaintiffs won a rural encroachment suit, garnering a total judgment of $262,987. Plaintiffs also moved to recover $80,030 in attorney’s fees under section 3334(a), but the trial court denied the request. The appellate court agreed with this result, determining that only out-of-pocket costs rather than fees were covered by the statutory provision.