No Independent Bad Faith Shown, So Not Another Basis For Fee Recovery.
As we have posted before, you must have a legal entitlement for fee recovery. Professional Tax Appeal v. Beverly Gemini Investments Corp., Case No. B321119 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Apr. 26, 2024) (unpublished) demonstrates that very well.
The essence of the case is that plaintiff settled an unjust enrichment lawsuit before trial, with the defendants paying the settlement amount but not admitting liability. Plaintiff then sought attorney’s fees, a request which was denied. The appellate court affirmed. There was no contractual basis for fees, so that was a bad fact for plaintiff. But plaintiff, being resourceful, argued there was a “bad faith” exception to the American attorney’s fees rule (each side bears their owns fees, in the absence of a contract or statute) based on general language in D’Amico v. Bd. of Medical Examiners, 11 Cal.3d 1, 27 (1974). Although the panel implicated that the bad faith exception could only be brought under CCP § 128.5 it did not have to go there because the lower court found no evidence of bad faith—even if the defendants did not settle “fast enough for [plaintiff’s] taste,” that was not sanctionable.
Comments