Appealability, POOF!: Where Party Appealed A Judgment Which Was Later Amended To Allow One Side Fees And Costs, The Judgment Could Not Be Amended While The Appeal Was Pending

A $119,010 Fee Award Under An Amended Judgment Went POOF!

            Just to show you how the sequence of events can play a big part on appeal, we explain what happened in Kling v. Horn, Case No. B310164 (2d Dist., Div. 7 June 8, 2022) (unpublished).

            An original judgment in a matter stated that each side was to bear its own fees and costs.  Defendant filed a motion to amend the judgment to remove that provision in preparation for filing a motion for attorney’s fees.  Before any rulings on these motions, plaintiff filed a notice of appeal from the judgment.  The lower court eventually did amend the judgment to delete the “bear own fees/costs” language and issued an award of attorney’s fees in favor of defendant and against plaintiff/plaintiff entities to the tune of $119,010.  (In a prior appeal, the panel decided that the appeal stayed any attempt to add plaintiff entities as judgment debtors under CCP § 187.)

            The 2/7 DCA reversed.  It determined that the appeal of the original judgment did stay the attempts to amend the judgment such that the subsequent fees order was not collateral to the original judgment.  Although there are some exceptions, defendant failed to show any of them applied.