Deadlines, Retainer Agreements, Section 1717: 4/1 DCA Affirms $108,848.50 Attorney Fees Award To Prevailing Plaintiff Attorney For Work In Seeking Unpaid Fees And In Defending Against Former Client’s Cross-Complaint

Balance Of Unpaid Fees And Costs Were $31,147.17 When Former Client Stopped Making Agreed-Upon Monthly Installment Payments Of $200.

            In Delisi v. Wagner, Case Nos. D074728 and D075506 (4^th Dist., Div. 1 January 27, 2020) (unpublished), an attorney sued his former client for unpaid fees and costs when Former Client stopped making monthly installment payments of $200 agreed upon by the parties in an addendum to their retainer agreement.   

            Former Client owed $31,147.17 when he stopped making the $200 monthly installment payments.  When Attorney sued for the unpaid fees, Former Client filed a cross-complaint for general negligence alleging damages as a result of Attorney’s representation in Former Client’s divorce case, and seeking damages of $88,275.  The trial court found the cross-complaint was time-barred pursuant to the one-year statute of limitations set forth by Code Civ. Proc. section 340.6, and granted Attorney’s motion for summary judgment.  Later, the trial court also granted Attorney’s motion for summary judgment on his complaint for unpaid fees and costs – awarding $12,000 for 60 missed installment payments, plus interest from the date each installment payment became due.

            As the prevailing party, and pursuant to the attorney fees provision in the parties’ retainer agreement, Attorney then successfully moved for two awards of attorney fees and costs under Civ. Code section 1717 – receiving an award of $108,848.50, with $88,495.50 awarded for the fees/costs incurred in prosecuting his complaint, and $20,353 awarded for the fees/costs incurred in defending against the cross-complaint.  Attorney's motions for fees and costs were considered unopposed by the trial court due to the late filing of Former Client's opposition.

            Former Client unsuccessfully appealed the judgment and post-judgment awards of fees/costs – with the 4/1 DCA finding he failed to meet his burden of proving reversible error on both procedural and substantive grounds.  With regard to the summary judgment, Former Client – who had represented himself at both the trial and appellate court levels – had forfeited arguments on appeal by failing to support them with sufficient facts, citations to the record, and/or failing to raise them in the trial court.  As to the attorney fees orders, Former Client had forfeited appellate review by failing to timely oppose Attorney’s motions in the trial court.