Appellant’s Conclusionary Statements Were Not Sufficient To Meet Appellant’s Burden To Overcome Deferential Substantial Evidence Standard On Appeal.
This next case provides a cautionary tale and affirms what we’ve said before – fee shifting statutes can be a real game changer.
Appellant in Cavanagh v. Cavanagh, Case Nos. B294140/B299039 (2d Dist., Div. 6 April 18, 2022) (unpublished) incurred an alleged $105,021.48 in sanctions, which included $72,699 in attorneys’ fees, pursuant to Probate Code § 17211(a) – which allows for an award of the compensation and costs of the trustee and other expenses and costs of litigation, including attorney’s fees, against a beneficiary contesting the trustee’s account if the probate court determines that the contest was without reasonable cause and in bad faith.
Appellant argued that the probate court did not have the authority to award sanctions because he did not contest Trustee’s account within the meaning of section 17211(a), but the appellate panel found the argument to be without merit based on appellant’s written objections to Trustee’s first draft account. Appellant’s additional arguments – that he had not acted without reasonable cause and in bad faith, and that he had no reasonable alternative but to object – also went nowhere. Determination as to reasonable cause – where the facts are disputed as they were in this case – and bad faith is made under the deferential substantial evidence standard. As such, appellant had the burden of affirmatively showing that the record did not contain substantial evidence supporting the probate court’s findings. (Denham v. Superior Court, 2 Cal.3d 557, 564 (1970).) However, appellant instead relied on conclusionary statements to prove his case on appeal. Finally, as to appellant’s claim that he had no alternative but to object to Trustee’s account, he failed to show that Trustee’s account was facially defective. In addition to the six-figure sanction award imposed on appellant, the 2/6 DCA also awarded Trustee his costs on appeal.
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