Allocation, Landlord/Tenant, Retainer Agreements: $910,752.50 Fee Award Under San Francisco Rent Ordinance Fee-Shifting Clause Affirmed On Appeal

Trial Judge Did Reduce Requested Lodestar By More Than $70,000—About 60% Of The Request, Although Refusing To Award A Positive 1.5 Multiplier.

            Landlords in Duncan v. Kihagi, Case No. A154678 (1^st Dist., Div. 1 Oct. 6, 2021) (unpublished), were not pleased when a trial judge awarded $910,752.50 in fees in favor of the winning tenants where there was a fee-shifting provision in a San Francisco Rent Ordinance (a common feature of many municipal rent ordinances), although reducing the lodestar request by over $70,000 and declining to award a 1.5 positive multiplier.  The appellate court affirmed.  The fee claimants did not have to apportion a lot of the work because it was interrelated to the success under the Rent Ordinance, even though some claims were abandoned in order to streamline the trial.  Streamlining was not deserving of punishment.  Isolated challenges to some billing entries did not change things, given the lodestar reduction by the lower court.  The hourly rates for a 20+ year attorney ($425) and for a more senior founding partner ($525) were not excessive for Bay Area practitioners in such a case.  The contingency retainer agreement did not have to be introduced into evidence because the contractual terms do not compel any particular fee award.  (Vella v. Hudgins, 151 Cal.App.3d 515, 520-521 (1984).)  Finally, the financial impact of the fee award on landlords was not a mandatory factor to consider.  (Garcia v. Santana, 174 Cal.App.4^th 464, 467 (2009).)