Judge: Mark E. Windham, Case: 22STCP02492, Date: 2023-03-09 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 22STCP02492 Hearing Date: March 9, 2023 Dept: 26
Wolf v. Salazar, et
al.
MOTION
FOR ATTORNEY’S FEES AND COSTS
(Civil
Code §§ 798.85, 1717)
TENTATIVE
RULING:
Petitioner Marilyn
Uhler Wolf, Trustee of the Wolf Bypass Trust dba ABC Wishing Well’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees and Costs is
GRANTED IN THE AMOUNT OF $7,726.50 IN ATTORNEY’S FEES AND $446.05 IN COSTS.
ANALYSIS:
Petitioner Marilyn Uhler Wolf,
Trustee of the Wolf Bypass Trust dba ABC Wishing Well (“Petitioner”) filed the
instant Petition for Permanent Injunction Pursuant to Civil Code section 798.88
against Alejandra Sierra Salazar
(“Respondent”) on July 1, 2022. Petitioner moved pursuant to Civil Code section
786.88 for an order enjoining Respondent from continuing violations of the
rules of Petitioner’s mobile home park, ABC Wishing Well (“the Park”).
On October 25, 2022, the Court
granted the Petition and found Petitioner was entitled to an award of
attorney’s fees and costs. (Order Granting Petition for Permanent Injunction,
10/25/22, p. 2:12-15.) Petitioner filed the instant Motion for Attorney’s Fees
and Costs on November 23, 2022. No opposition has been filed to date.
Discussion
Petitioner
requests attorney’s fees of $12,414.50 and costs of $446.05 pursuant to Civil
Code section 798.85 and 1717. (Motion, Beam Decl., ¶¶6-9.) A motion for attorney’s fees must be filed
and served with the time for filing a notice of appeal under Cal. Rules of
Court Rule 8.822. (Cal. Rules of Court Rule 3.1702(a).) Cal. Rules of Court
Rule 8.822 states that an attorneys’ fees motion must be filed within either
(1) 30 days after the trial court clerk served the party filing the motion with
notice of entry of judgment; or (2) 90 days after entry of judgment. (Cal.
Rules of Court 8.822(1).) Here, the order granting the Petition was entered on October
25, 2022 and the instant motion was timely filed on November 23, 2022.
Entitlement to Attorney’s Fees and Costs
A prevailing party in entitled to recover
costs, including attorney’s fees when authorized by statute or contract. (Code
Civ. Proc., § 1032, subd. (a)(4); § 1033.5, subd. (a)(10).) Similarly, Code of
Civil Procedure section 1717 provides that attorney’s fees and costs shall be
awarded to the prevailing party in an action on a contract, where the contract
specifically provides for attorney’s fees and costs. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1717,
subd. (a).) It is undisputed that Petitioner is the prevailing party in this
action, as the party in whose favor the Petition was granted. (See Code Civ.
Proc., § 1032, subd. (a)(4).) Accordingly, Petitioner is entitled to recover
attorney’s fees and costs if so provided in the contract at issue or the moving
statute.
The parties’
contract provides for recovery of attorney’s fees pursuant to the Mobilehome
Residency Law. (Motion, Beam Decl., Exh. 1, ¶35.) Under the Mobilehome
Residency Law, at Civil Code section 798.85, the prevailing party is entitled
to reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. (Civ. Code, § 798.85.) Therefore,
Petitioner is entitled to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs on both
contractual and statutory grounds.
Amount of
Attorney’s Fees and Costs
The attorney’s fees sought by Petitioner are based on hourly
rates of $275.00 and $300.00 per hour, plus paralegal time billed at $140.00
per hour. (Motion, Beam Decl., ¶¶5-7.)
The Court’s objective is to award
attorney fees at the fair market value
based on the particular action. (Ketchum v. Moses (2001) 24
Cal.4th 1122, 1132.) “‘[T]he fee setting inquiry in California ordinarily
begins with the ‘lodestar,’ i.e., the number of hours reasonably expended
multiplied by the reasonable hourly rate . . . .’” (Ketchum v. Moses (2001)
24 Cal.4th 1122, 1134.) “The reasonable hourly rate is that prevailing in the
community for similar work.” (PLCM
Group v. Drexler (2000) 22 Cal.4th 1084, 1095.) The hourly
rates are reasonable for an attorney with decades of experience, as Petitioner’s
attorney does, in a particularly specialized area of practice. (Motion, Beam
Decl., ¶8.) The Motion however, does not offer an explanation why the paralegal
rates are $140.00, which is on the high end. (Id. at ¶5.) The Court
finds the paralegals’ rate should be reduced to $100.00 per hour.
Regarding
the number of hours expended, the lodestar
method looks to factors relevant to the particular case: “(1) the novelty and
difficulty of the questions involved, (2) the skill displayed in presenting
them, (3) the extent to which the nature of the litigation precluded other
employment by the attorneys, (4) the contingent nature of the fee award.” (Ketchum, supra, 24 Cal.4th at 1132.)
The Court agrees that while mobile home law is a specialized area of practice, the
Motion does not support the full number of hours billed on the matter, as
follows.
Petitioner’s
counsel states that the work included issuing a 7-Day Notice, preparing and
filing the Petition, communicating with witnesses, preparing and filing the
supporting declarations, bringing an ex parte application to advance the
hearing, attending the hearing, obtaining the issuance of the Injunction Order
and bringing the instant Motion. (Motion, Beam Decl., ¶¶4-6.) For this work,
the attorneys and paralegals spent 30.2 hours. (Id. at ¶¶6-7.) The
Petition, however, did not involve complex issues of law or fact and Respondent
made only a limited opposition without the assistance of counsel. The Court
finds the time billed by Attorney Beam should be reduced by ten hours.
Therefore, the attorney’s fees are reduced to $480.00 for the paralegal’s time
and $3,090.00 for time spent by Attorney Beam. Petitioner is awarded attorney’s
fees of $7,726.50.
The costs are set forth in the timely filed Memorandum of
Costs and appear proper. (Memo of Costs, filed 11/23/22.) Petitioner is awarded
costs of $446.05.
Conclusion
Petitioner Marilyn
Uhler Wolf, Trustee of the Wolf Bypass Trust dba ABC Wishing Well’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees and Costs is
GRANTED IN THE AMOUNT OF $7,726.50 ATTORNEY’S FEES AND $446.05 COSTS.
Moving party to give
notice.