The Trial Court Had Effectively Admitted The Note Into Evidence As The Note Had Been Marked As Evidence, The Parties Had Elicited Testimony About It At Trial, And Neither Party Disputed Its Authenticity Or Objected To Its Admissibility.
In Amirnezhad v. Ghayam, Case No. B306361 (2d Dist., Div. 8 May 4, 2022) (unpublished), defendant appealed the judgment entered against him in an action involving his restaurant partnership with plaintiff. Included in the judgment was an order that defendant pay plaintiff $159,792.98 in attorneys’ fees and costs. Defendant argued that the trial court had no basis for the award of attorneys’ fees because the Note giving rise to a fees award was introduced, but not admitted, at trial. Although Defendant forfeited this argument by failing to support it with any authority, the 2/8 DCA explained that the trial court had effectively admitted the Note into evidence, and that there was no error in relying on the Note under the circumstances. The Note had been marked as evidence and counsel for both parties elicited testimony about it – with neither party disputing the Note’s authenticity or objecting to its admissibility. (Dodson v. Greuner, 28 Cal.App.2d 418 (1938) [note that had never been formally admitted into evidence deemed admitted where the court and the parties had each treated the note as being in evidence].)
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