Probate, Substantiation Of Reasonableness Of Fees: Attorney Fees By Three Firms Granted To Trustee In Long-Standing Dispute Were Affirmed On Appeal

Fees To Three Firms Representing Trustee In Multiple Venues Was Just Fine In This Context.

            A beneficiary under a trust, which engaged in a long-standing dispute against trustee in multiple venues (California superior court, California appellate court, U.S. bankruptcy court, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals), was not happy when well-documented fees incurred by trustee through three law firms were ordered to be paid by the trust.  The appellate court in Kvassay v. Kvassay, Case No. B297461 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Jan. 1, 2021) (unpublished) affirmed the propriety of the fee award based on (1) painstaking substantiation showed the amounts were justified, and (2) the fact that the work of three law firms was warranted given the battle raging against trustee in various venues.