Reasonableness Of Fees: Top 10 Fee Awards In Published And Unpublished California State Court Decisions In The Last Few Years For Civil, Noncontingency Cases

Our David Letterman’s Top 10.

Treasury. A $75,000 wheelbarrow of mutilated money on way to vaults. Employee in picture has wheeled barrow 50 years. From the National Photo Company Collection, photograph taken between 1909 and 1925. Library of Congress.

            We got a fun email from Damian Castaneda, a San Jose-based attorney who specializes in business law, contracts, employment, fraud, and real estate.   He asked us bloggers if we could generate a David Letterman type of “Top Ten Attorney’s Fees Awards” based on blogging since May 2008.  Here is our attempt, keeping in mind that we are not including contingency fee awards (such as those encountered in class action, employment/FEHA, lemon law, and private attorney fee cases—which are usually contingency based and can be quite large, subject to positive multipliers).  We also are limiting it to results in published and unpublished California intermediate appellate court decisions for the period May 2008 to present.  We apologize if we missed some other fee awards, but us bloggers invite readers to share them so that we can amend our list.  (Here is Mr. Castaneda’s ending comment to us: “Simply put, if I had known as a young man the stress of being a lawyer, I would have been a comedian instead.  But the closest I can do now is to hope for a Top Ten list and we can all have a laugh at what those lawyers did to deserve it.”). There you go, and here is our list:

            1.  CONTRACTUAL FEES—Kline v. Redevelopment Agency of the City of Pomona, Case No. B184453 (2d Dist., Div. 7 June 17, 2008 unpublished):  Redevelopment agency properly was awarded $4,126,638.98 in fees against plaintiffs in a retail commercial center dispute involving a contractual fees clause. 

            2.  TRADE SECRETS—Altavion, Inc. v. Konica Minolta Systems Laboratory, Inc., Case Nos. A134343/A135831 (1^st Dist., Div. 5 May 8, 2014 unpublished):  Plaintiff prevailing on a trade secret misappropriation claim was awarded statutory fees of $3,297,102.50 under Civil Code section 3426.4 where plaintiff won compensatory damages of $1,513,400. 

            3.  CONTRACTUAL FEES UNDER CONSENT DECREE—In re Tobacco Cases I, 216 Cal.App.4^th 570 (4^th Dist., Div. 1 2013):  People of the State of California prevailed upon a consent decree with a contractual fee clause against a large tobacco company, awarded $2,943,920.63 in attorney’s fees.

            4.  CONTRACTUAL FEES CLAUSE UNDER JOINT VENTURE AGREEMENT—San Vicente Investment, LP v. Trammel Crow Santa Monica Development, LLC, Case No. B296147 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Oct. 1, 2020 unpublished):  Prevailing defendants in joint venture construction dispute, based on contractual fees clause, were correctly awarded $2,135,688.75 in attorney’s fees (out of a requested $2,234,607.21).

            5.  SURETY BOND FEES CLAUSE/CIVIL CODE SECTION 1717—Los Angeles Unified School Dist. v. Torres Construction Group, Case No. B291940 (2d Dist., Div. 8 Nov. 17, 2020 certified for publication):  $2,100,000 (out of a requested $2,123,277.20) fee award to LAUSD against a surety company, based upon a surety bond fees clause, affirmed on appeal.

            6.  CONTRACTUAL FEES UNDER A LEASE—Cal-Murphy, LLC v. Hines Interests Limited Partnership, Case Nos. A137605/A139772 (1^st Dist., Div. 5 Aug. 1, 2014 unpublished):  Non-prevailing parties who assumed a lease were subject to $1,600,000 attorney’s fees award based upon a contractual fee provision.

            7.  CONTRACTUAL FEES UNDER AN ATTORNEY ENGAGEMENT LETTER—Calvo Fisher & Jacob LLP v. Lujon, 234 Cal.App.4^th 608 (1^st Dist., Div. 2 2015):  Former attorneys obtained a full requested award of $1,532,674.81 in attorney’s fees against former client based on a broad contractual fee clause in the engagement letter. 

            8.  CONTRACTUAL FEES UNDER EASEMENT AGREEMENT—IMT Capital 11525 Blucher v. NMS Properties, Case No. B255823 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Mar. 4, 2016 unpublished):  Party winning a contentious easement dispute awarded $1,185,783 in attorney’s fees, out of a requested $1,820,282.98—a 35% reduction.

            9.  CONTRACTUAL FEES IN A COMMERCIAL LOAN/GUARANTY DISPUTE—Legendary Investors Group v. Nieman, Case No. B284736 (2d Dist., Div. 4 Jan. 16, 2019 unpublished):  Prevailing defendants, in a long-running commercial loan and guaranty dispute, recovered $1,047,313.72 out of a requested $1,061,208.22. 

            10. LANDLORD/TENANT—NHP/PMB Burbank Medical Plaza I, LLC v. Premiere Medical Center of Burbank, Inc., Case No. B299841 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Dec. 14, 2020 unpublished):  Former prevailing tenants were awarded $988,539 (a full fee request) against former landlord in a commercial unlawful detainer action which generated lots of appellate work ultimately reversing an initial $1.14 million judgment against former tenants and which also generated related actions.