Judge: Melissa R. Mccormick, Case: "Platinum Properties Investor Network, Inc. v. Fuller", Date: 2022-08-04 Tentative Ruling

Plaintiff Platinum Properties Investor Network, Inc.’s Motion to Tax Costs

Plaintiff Platinum Properties Investor Network, Inc. moves pursuant to Civil Procedure Code section 685.070 to tax postjudgment costs claimed by defendants ROI Property Group Management, LLC and ROI Property Group 2, LLC.  For the following reasons, plaintiff’s motion is denied.

Defendants’ costs memorandum seeks $36,602.29 in costs and $27,610.58 in accrued interest.  ROA No. 622 (Memorandum of Costs after Judgment and Declaration of Accrued Interest).  The claimed costs include $36,485.59 in attorneys’ fees.  (In their opposition, defendants withdrew their request for $111.70 in costs related to preparing and issuing an abstract of judgment and issuing a writ of execution.) 

Plaintiff argues the court should not award defendants the claimed attorneys fees unless and until defendants “submit a full accounting” of the attorneys’ fees and plaintiff has an opportunity to inspect the accounting and respond to it.  Defendants have submitted a declaration from their counsel and detailed time records and invoices in opposition to this motion.  Heffner Decl. ¶ 5, Exs. B1-B11, & Exs. C1-C28.  Plaintiff did not file a reply and thus has not challenged any of these sums.  The court has reviewed all of these materials and finds the fees and costs reasonable.  Plaintiff’s motion to tax $36,485.59 in attorneys’ fees is denied. 

Plaintiff does not contest the amount of accrued interest defendants claim.  Plaintiff instead argues the court should not award defendants the claimed accrued interest because defendants obtained approximately $234,000 from a levy against plaintiff on January 20, 2022, and the money currently resides in defendants’ counsel’s trust account.  Defendants have submitted evidence demonstrating they returned the levied funds to the bank from which the funds were obtained, and the bank in turn interpleaded the funds with the court.  Heffner Decl. ¶¶ 6-7 & Ex. D.  Defendants do not possess the funds and the judgment remains unsatisfied.  Id.  Plaintiff’s motion to tax $27,610.58 in accrued interest is denied.

Defendants to give notice.