Judge: Mark E. Windham, Case: 22STLC02210, Date: 2023-11-30 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22STLC02210    Hearing Date: November 30, 2023    Dept: 26

ACIC v. Bravo, et al.

MOTION FOR ATTORNEY’S FEES

(CCP §§ 1032, 1033.5; Civil Code § 1717)

TENTATIVE RULING:

Plaintiff American Contractors Indemnity Company’s Motion to be Deemed Prevailing and for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs is GRANTED IN THE AMOUNT OF $5,823.27 ATTORNEY’S FEES AND $1,029.06 COSTS.

ANALYSIS:

Plaintiff American Contractors Indemnity Company (“Plaintiff”) brought this action for breach of indemnity agreement against Defendant Maria Carmen Bravo aka Carmen Bravo (“Defendant”) on April 4, 2022. Defendant filed an answer in properia persona on April 20, 2022. On December 8, 2022, the Court granted Plaintiff’s motion to deem requests for admissions, set one, admitted. (Minute Order 12/08/22.)

The court granted Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment on August 1, 2023 and entered judgment in Plaintiff’s favor on August 18, 2023. (Minute Order, 08/01/23; Judgment, 08/18/23.) Notice of Entry of Judgment was served on Defendant on September 12, 2023. Plaintiff filed the instant Motion for Attorney’s Fees and Costs on September 25, 2023. To date, no opposition has been filed.

Discussion

A prevailing party is entitled to recover costs, including attorneys’ fees when authorized by contract. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1032, subd. (a)(4); § 1033.5, subd. (a)(10)(A).) Similarly, Code of Civil Procedure section 1717 provides that attorneys’ fees and costs shall be awarded to the prevailing party in an action on a contract, where the contract specifically provides for attorneys’ fees and costs. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1717, subd. (a).)

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).) The instant motion was timely filed on September 25, 2023.

It is undisputed that Plaintiff is the prevailing party in this action, as the party in whose favor the summary judgment was granted. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 1032, subd. (a)(4).) Accordingly, it is entitled to recover its costs under Code of Civil Procedure section 1033.5, subdivision (a). It is also entitled to recovery its attorneys’ fees if such recovery is provided for in the contract at issue. The parties’ contract provides for recovery of attorney’s fees by the prevailing party in the event of any litigation arising out of or relating to the indemnity agreement. (Motion, Kim Decl., Exh. 1, ¶“Indemnity Agreement.”) Therefore, Plaintiff is entitled to recover its attorney’s fees as the prevailing party.

Plaintiff’s counsel billed its attorneys’ work at between $275.00 and $375.00 per hour, and paralegals’ time at $185.00 to $205.00 per hour. (Id. at ¶¶12-13 and Exh. 3.) Plaintiff has incurred attorneys’ fees of $5,823.27. (Id. at ¶13 and Exh. 3.) Although the supporting declaration and billing ledgers do not indicate exactly how many hours of time Plaintiff’s counsel billed on this action, Attorney Amber N. Kim performed the majority of the work. (Id. at ¶16.) At the billing rate of approximately $325.00, Plaintiff’s counsel billed approximately 17.9 hours on this matter. (Id. at Exh. 3.) This is a reasonable number of hours to spend on a straightforward case in which Plaintiff prevailed on an unopposed motion for summary judgment. In failing to oppose the instant motion, Defendant offers no reason to find this amount of time was excessive or unreasonable. The request for an additional $487.50 in fees to review the opposition and prepare a reply, however, should be denied as no opposition or reply were filed. (See id. at ¶14.)

Plaintiff also requests costs of $1,029.06 for its filing and service fees in this action. (Memorandum of Costs, filed 09/12/23.) To recover a cost, it must be reasonably necessary to the litigation and reasonable in amount. (Perko’s Enterprises, Inc. v. RRNS Enterprises (l992) 4 Cal.App.4th 238, 244.) If the items appearing in a cost bill appear to be proper charges, the burden is on the party seeking to tax costs to show that they were not reasonable or necessary. (Ladas v. California State Automotive Assoc. (1993) 19 Cal.App.4th 761, 773-74.) The filing and service fees appear reasonable and are not challenged by a motion to tax costs.

Conclusion

Based on the foregoing, Plaintiff American Contractors Indemnity Company’s Motion to be Deemed Prevailing and for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs is GRANTED IN THE AMOUNT OF $5,823.27 ATTORNEY’S FEES AND $1,029.06 COSTS.

Moving party to give notice.