California Attorney’s Fees
"All about the substantive and procedural legal questions pertaining to attorney fee awards in California."
Author: Marc Alexander and Mike Hensley are partners at Adorno Yoss Alvarado & Smith in Santa Ana, Calif.
Blawg Related Categories: Trials & Litigation • Attorney Fees • States • California • Partner
Recent Posts from California Attorney’s Fees
- We Wish our Readers a Happy and Safe 4th of July
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Boo To Billable Hours Available On-Line
From Innovation to Albatross. Our readers will know from our posts (January 7, 2009, February 1, 2009) that the concept of the billable hour is under attack by some lawyers and clients. Fellow blawger, attorney…
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Civil Code Section 1717: Court Of Appeal Sustains $15,000 Fee Award For $37,000 Rental Delinquency Case
Fourth District, Division 2 Rebuffs Request for Over $40,000 in Fees. Plaintiff landlord sued and ultimately recovered $37,420 in delinquent rent (plus $10,295.96 in interest) from former tenants who had abandoned commercial premises being rented…
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Private Attorney General Statute: CEQA Winner Denied Fees Where Win Was On Technical Issues Of Relatively Narrow Scope
Third District Affirms Fee Denial Where Project Scope Went Ahead After Correction of Minor Blemishes. California's private attorney general statute (Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5) requires a significant public benefit as an indispensable element…
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Statutory Fees: Attorney's Fees Motion Preserves Fee Request, With Claimants Not Having To File Costs Memorandum Seeking Fees
Second District, Division 3 Rebuffs Contrary Technical Argument. In Brownstein v. Smith, Case No. B205864 (2d Dist., Div. 3 July 1, 2009), plaintiff lost a condominium dispute against other condo owners arising out of CC&Rs.…
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CCP Section 128.7 Sanctions: Obey The Safe Harbor Provisions Or Be Precluded!
Second District, Division 7 Requires Compliance By the Numbers. Martorana v. Marlin & Saltzman, Case No. B209863 (2d Dist., Div. 7 July 1, 2009) (certified for publication) involved a plaintiff wage/hour class member that brought…
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Civil Code Section 1717: Sixth District Affirms Trial Court Denial Of Fees To Defendant Where Plaintiff Dismissed Both Contract And Fraud Claims
Sixth District Applies Reasoning of Santisas. The next case shows how appellate courts apply a pragmatic standard in gauging whether a party prevailed in order to recover attorney's fees, even after a voluntarily dismissal of…
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Receivership Fees: Court Of Appeal Affirms $96,000 Fee Request For Receiver And His Counsel, Assessing Against Parties To The Litigation And Modifying Judgment So That Bankrupt Partys Principal Bore A Proportionate Share
Fourth District, Division 1 Sanctions Party and His Counsel for Not Notifying It About a Bankruptcy Case with Automatic Stay Implications. The next case is not that remarkable for affirming a $96,000 award of fees…
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CCP 998: Unapportioned 998 Offer To Plaintiffs Resulted In Denial Of Substantial Expert Witness Fees To Prevailing Party
First District, Division 3 Holds That 998 Offer Was Invalid, Requiring Plaintiffs To Conditionally Agree On Some Apportionment Between Themselves. Code of Civil Procedure section 998 offers require serious crafting to make sure they are…
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Judgments: Court Of Appeal Affirms Refusal To Enforce Judgment Against Attorney Where Attorney Legitimately Performed Services And Was Paid Fees Before Imposition of Constructive Trust Against Clients Property
Third District Finds No Basis to Make Attorney Liable for Judgment Against Client. In Monier-Kilgore v. Flores, Case No. C054502 (3d Dist. June 30, 2009) (unpublished), an attorney was paid about $532,000 in fees after…