Aldrich & Hedman, Inc. v. Blakely

Defendant, General Adjustment Bureau, Inc. (GAB), appeals the court's award of attorney's fees against it in favor of two other defendants. The sole question presented is whether this award was a proper exercise of the court's inherent equitable powers.

The trial court's unchallenged findings of fact show: Mrs. Blakely insured her home for fire loss with Farmers Insurance Group (Farmers). On September 27, 1976, a fire occurred. Mrs. Blakely notified Farmers, which in turn referred settlement of the loss on a full adjustment basis to GAB. In the course of adjusting the loss, GAB obtained three…