Plaintiff Did Win Some Fees. But More Additional Fees Not Allowable Because Of Failure To Provide Reporter’s Transcript On Fee Motion Hearing.
We can only tell you that some appellate courts strictly enforce the necessity of a reporter’s transcript on a fee motion hearing on entitlement and/or fee reasonableness issues. The lack of an adequate record on appeal was fatal in Pumphrey v. Min & Hong Corp., Case No. B326037 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Dec. 18, 2023) (unpublished).
There, plaintiff brought ADA, Unruh Act, and Health & Safety Act claims relating to disability access issues. Although plaintiff partially prevailed, the court substantially lowered fee and costs requests, awarding $42,688.50 in fees (out of around a $117,000 ask) and $3,028.15 (out of a $12,884.30 ask). On appeal, plaintiff argued that more fees were required under the Unruh Act claim. However, because there was no reporter’s transcript on the fee motion, it was unclear what fee entitlement statutes were at issue so that the lack of this record required an affirmance on appeal.
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