Plaintiff’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees
May 29, 2026 Law and Motion Calendar PAGE 18 HONORABLE MICHAEL L. MAU, Department 20 ________________________________________________________________________ 9:00 AM Line 9 / UD Line 2 25-UDL-01396 DANIEL MAUNG VS. MARISSA GUILLERMO
DANIEL MAUNG ILENE M HOCHSTEIN MARISSA GUILLERMO PRO SE
Plaintiff’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees
TENTATIVE RULING:
Plaintiff’s unopposed Motion for Attorney’s Fees after Trial is GRANTED in part.
Attorney fees authorized by contract are allowable as costs. (See, Code Civ. Proc., §§ 1021, 1033.5.) They are properly sought by noticed motion either before or after entry of judgment. (Cal. Rules of Court, Rules 3.13702(a), 3.13702(b); see, Maldonado v. Epsilon Plastics, Inc. (2018) 22 Cal.App.5th 1308, 1337, Burkhalter Kessler Clement & George LLP v. Hamilton (2018) 19 Cal.App.5th 38, 46–47.)
The contract rental agreement was marked and admitted at Trial as Exhibit 1. See, Minute Order 4/3/2026. The Court therefore takes judicial notice of said agreement, and it provides for attorney fees as follows:
“In any action or proceeding arising out of this Agreement, the prevailing party between Landlord and Tenant shall be entitled to reasonable attorney fees and costs....”
Trial Exhibit 1, Rental Agreement, ¶ 38; see as also attached, Complaint, Exhibit 1, Rental Agreement, ¶38.
Plaintiff’s attorney Ilene Hochstein provides her hourly rate at $360.00 per hour, which the Court finds reasonable. Ms. Hochstein provides that a total of 39.55 hours were then spent litigating this matter, but excludes time the client was not charged for after the verdict in the first trial. Hochstein Decl., ¶¶ 7 and 10 and Exh.
1. Ms. Hochstein requests total attorney’s fees of $15,139.25. However, the spreadsheet of total time (Id. Exh. 1) contains four different time entries for the prior discovery Motion to Compel totaling $2,406.25, which though successful, already awarded some of these same fees as sanctions. Minute Order, 1/9/2026. Therefore, the discovery motion fees are deducted, leaving a subtotal of $12,733.00.
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Plaintiff’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees after Trial is GRANTED in part for $12,733.00 which amount is added to the Judgment filed on April 20, 2026. In addition to preparing an Order after hearing per the instructions below, Plaintiff is to file a separate Amended Judgment form reflecting this addition.