ETHICS & ATTORNEY'S FEES CASES

• Skaff v. Meridien N. Am. Beverly Hills, LLC
• In re: Wind N' Wave
• Sims v. Johnson
• Bossier Chrysler-Dodge II, Inc. v. Rauschenberg
• Med-Trans Corp., Inc. v. California City
• Guimaraes v. Northrop Grumman Corp.

U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 01, 2007
Skaff v. Meridien N. Am. Beverly Hills, LLC, No. 06-55434
In an action brought by a disabled individual against a hotel pursuant to the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and California civil rights laws, denial of a motion for attorney's fees and costs is vacated where the district court erred by concluding that it had no authority under either the ADA or California law to award fees and costs after the parties reached a settlement. Read more...

U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 01, 2007
In re: Wind N' Wave, No. 05-56254
Creditors who receive compensation under Bankruptcy Code section 503(b)(4) should also be compensated for costs incurred in litigating a fee award, so long as the services meet the section 503(b)(4) requirements and the case "exemplifies a 'set of circumstances' where litigation was 'necessary'." In an appeal arising after creditors petitioned a bankruptcy court to recover legal fees incurred in connection with filing an involuntary Chapter 7 petition against the debtor, a bankruptcy appellate panel (BAP) decision reversing the denial of such fees but denying fees for the appeal itself is reversed as the BAP erred in summarily denying creditors compensation for services arising out of the successful appeal. Read more...

U.S. D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, November 02, 2007
Sims v. Johnson, No. 06-5173
In case involving settlement of plaintiff's discrimination claims, denial of motion for a declaratory judgment concerning the payment of attorneys' fees is vacated where the record does not reveal the terms of the compromise settlement regarding attorney fees, which are disputed and underlie plaintiff's request for declaratory relief. Read more...

Supreme Court of Texas, November 02, 2007
Bossier Chrysler-Dodge II, Inc. v. Rauschenberg, No. 06-0874
A court of appeals decision affirming an award of attorney's fees while reducing the trial court's damage award is reversed in part, as the issue of attorney's fees should be retried, unless the appellate court is reasonably certain that the jury was not significantly influenced by the erroneous damage award. Read more...

California Appellate Districts, October 30, 2007
Med-Trans Corp., Inc. v. California City, No. F050519
In contract dispute involving air ambulance services, order disqualifying plaintiff's attorney from representing it against defendant is reversed as the trial court erred because there was no evidence of an attorney-client relationship between plaintiff's attorney and defendant, and in any event no confidential information was disclosed. Read more...

California Appellate Districts, October 30, 2007
Guimaraes v. Northrop Grumman Corp., No. B194205
An action seeking recognition and enforcement of a foreign money judgment under the Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act is subject to the 10-year statute of limitations applicable to actions on sister state judgments, rather than to the four-year catch-all statute of limitations in Code of Civil Procedure section 343. Read more...