TENTATIVE RULING

Plaintiff American Commercial Equities Two, LLC’s Motion for Order for an Award of Attorneys’ Fees in the Sum of $19,650 as Prevailing Party Per Contract Against Defendants is GRANTED in the reduced amount of $18,950.

Plaintiff American Commercial Equities Two, LLC to give notice. 

REASONING

Plaintiff American Commercial Equities Two, LLC (“Plaintiff”) moves the Court for an order awarding it attorney fees in the amount of $19,650 against Defendants Reed Capital Group, LLC and Gary Reed Enterprises, Inc. (“Defendants”) on the ground that Plaintiff prevailed in this action after the Court granted Plaintiff’s motion for summary adjudication on January 19, 2024 as to the first and second causes of action. Defendants have not filed an opposition to the present motion.

It is axiomatic that a party is permitted to recover reasonable attorney fees, when authorized by contract, statute, or law, pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1033.5, subdivision (a)(10)(A)-(C). Section 28 of the Retail Center Lease dated May 29, 2013 provides as follows:

If at any time after the date hereof either Landlord or Tenant institutes any action or proceeding against the other relating to the provisions of the Lease or any default hereunder, the losing party in such action or proceeding shall reimburse the prevailing party for its reasonable expenses of attorneys’ fees and all costs and disbursements incurred, including, without limitation, any such fees, costs or disbursements incurred on any appeal from such action or proceeding.

(Mot., Segal Decl. ¶ 4, Ex. C.) Section 11 of the Guaranty, attached to the lease as Exhibit F, incorporates the provisions of the lease into the guaranty, thereby applying the attorney fees provision against the guarantor. (Ibid.) It is undisputed that Plaintiff prevailed on its claims against Defendants such that attorney fees are warranted here.

The fee setting inquiry in California ordinarily “begins with the ‘lodestar’ [method], i.e., the number of hours reasonably expended multiplied by the reasonable hourly rate.” (Graciano v. Robinson Ford Sales, Inc. (2006) 144 Cal.App.4th 140, 154.) “[A] computation of time spent on a case and the reasonable value of that time is fundamental to a determination of an appropriate attorneys’ fee award.” (Margolin v. Reg’l Planning Comm’n (1982) 134 Cal.App.3d 999, 1004.)

Plaintiff has provided detailed billings sheets with the motion describing the work performed in the amount of 53.4 hours at the rate of $325 per hour, until the rate changed to $350 per hour in time entries on or after January 18, 2024. (Mot., Segal Decl. ¶ 7, Ex. D.) Both the rate per hour and the number of hours spent working on this action is reasonable. Counsel also describes that three hours were spent drafting the present motion, and one hour will be spent appearing at the hearing, at the rate of $350. Given there is no opposition to the motion, the Court does not award fees incurred for preparing a reply. Accordingly, Plaintiff American Commercial Equities Two, LLC’s Motion for Order for an Award of Attorneys’ Fees in the Sum of $19,650 as Prevailing Party Per Contract Against Defendants is GRANTED in the reduced amount of $18,950.