Plaintiff’s Motion for Order Awarding Attorney Fees
Judge Benson – Law & Motion – Wednesday, April 22, 2026 @ 9:00 AM
1. 22CV00013 Wood, Jennifer v. Hood, Ria
EVENT: Plaintiff’s Motion for Order Awarding Attorney Fees
Plaintiff’s Motion for Order Awarding Attorney Fees is GRANTED. This is based on a reasonable lodestar calculation. Also, in considering the apportionment of attorney fees, a party may be ordered to bear attorney fees related to advancing positions of “limited merit.” (See Orien v. Lutz (2017) 16 Cal.App.5th 957, 968) Here the Court finds some of the positions advanced by Defendant through the course of litigation had minimal merit. Accordingly, Defendant is responsible for Plaintiff’s attorney fees in the amount of $21,392.73. Defendant’s late-filed opposition will not be considered. Plaintiff shall prepare the form of order within 2 weeks.
2. 25AP00007 Button, Patrick v. Durham Irrigation District
EVENT: Defendant Durham Irrigation District’s Demurrer to Plaintiffs’ Writ of Mandate
The demurrer is overruled. Defendant’s Request for Judicial Notice is denied. Regarding correspondence between the parties, such evidence is not (and has never been) proper subjects for judicial notice. As it pertains to the procedure for objecting to a proposed fee, judicial notice might be appropriate under Evidence Code section 452. However, even if that document is subject to judicial notice, Defendant’s argument that Plaintiff did not use the prescribed form is extrinsic matter. A demurrer tests the pleadings alone and not the evidence or other extrinsic matters. (SKF Farms v.
Superior Court (1984) 153 Cal.App.3d 902, 905) The hearing on demurrer may not be turned into a contested evidentiary hearing through the guise of having the court take judicial notice of documents whose truthfulness or proper interpretation are disputable. (Fremont Indemnity Co. v. Fremont General Corp., (2007) 148 Cal. App. 4th 97, 113) “Taking judicial notice of a document is not the same as accepting the truth of its contents or accepting a particular interpretation of its meaning.” (Herrera v.
Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. (2011) 196 Cal.App.4th 1366, 1375) 1
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