Legal Opinion
Cortez v. Bootsma
California Court of Appeal
Decided August 19, 1994No. D017438PublishedCited by 5 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
Opinion
FROEHLICH, J.
This appeal presents a single narrow question: when a statute requires the superior court to award “reasonable attorney’s fees,” may a local court rule limit the amount of that award? Specifically, the court determined a “reasonable” fee was $65,000. However, San Diego County Superior Court Rules, 1 rule 6.1 provided that in contested actions no attorney fees could be awarded “in excess of the amount agreed by the plaintiff to be paid to the plaintiff’s attorney.” In this case plaintiff and his attorney agreed to a 40 percent contingent fee, which would have amounted to…
2Cases cited11 opinions
- Mandel v. HodgesCalifornia Court of Appeal · 1976
- Melnyk v. RobledoCalifornia Court of Appeal · 1976
- Wisniewski v. ClaryCalifornia Court of Appeal · 1975
- Marshall v. Department of Water & PowerCalifornia Court of Appeal · 1990
- Glendora Community Redevelopment Agency v. DemeterCalifornia Court of Appeal · 1984
6 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by5 opinions
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- Contractors Labor Pool, Inc. v. Westway Contractors, Inc.California Court of Appeal · 1997
- Caro v. SmithCalifornia Court of Appeal · 1997
- Andre v. City of West SacramentoCalifornia Court of Appeal · 2001
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