Motion for Attorney Fees
Court, as both appeals were denied. For purposes of Civil Code section 1717, Defendants are the prevailing party. Pacific Carpets LLC sued all Defendants for breach of the subcontractor agreement. Because Defendants, even those who were nonsignatories, were sued on the subcontract as if they were parties to it, they are entitled to attorney fees. (Reynolds Metal Co. v. Alperson (1979) 25 Cal.3d 124, 128 [holding that nonsignatory defendants who prevailed in defense against claims based on promissory notes, which provided for recovery of attorney fees, were entitled to their fees since the plaintiff would have been entitled to recover if it had prevailed].)
Pacific Carpets, LLC’s claims arise out of the subcontract, as they all relate to Pacific Carpets, LLC’s performance of services and seek payment for those services. Further, 2525 Main’s crossclaim for disgorgement relates to payments made to Pacific Carpets, LLC for services provided under the subcontract. Thus, the Complaint and Cross-Complaint are actions “on a contract,” and the requested attorney’s fees incurred on appeal are recoverable under section 1717.
Based on the Court’s experience and knowledge of prevailing rates in the Orange County legal community, the Court finds the hourly rates charged by counsel, which range from $400 to $620, to be reasonable in light of counsel’s experience and qualifications. Further, the Court finds that the 185 hours reflected in the lodestar is a reasonable number of hours to expend responding to two appeals. In light of the above, Defendants’ Motion for Attorney Fees is GRANTED. Defendants to give notice.
107 Moreno vs. General Motors LLC
Motion for Attorney Fees
24-01403942 Plaintiff Abel Loeza Moreno (“Plaintiff”) moves for an order granting Plaintiff attorney fees against defendant General Motors LLC (“Defendant”) in the total amount of $31,527.15 plus an additional $3,375.00 for Plaintiff’s counsel to review Defendant’s opposition, draft a reply brief, and attend the hearing on this Motion. Plaintiff also requests costs in the amount of $1,652.13.
To determine the appropriate fee award under Civil Code section 1794, the Court applies the loadstar method. Under the lodestar method, the base amount is calculated from a compilation of time reasonably spent and reasonable hourly compensation of each attorney. (Serrano v. Priest (1977) 20 Cal.3d 25, 48
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As to costs, Defendant states that it tendered payment in full in the amount of $1,652.13 in costs. Therefore, the request for costs is denied as moot.
As to the lodestar for attorney fees, Defendant argues that the number of hours expended by Plaintiff’s counsel on certain tasks is excessive. The Court agrees that certain entries reflect an excessive number of hours spent for the related tasks and that the hours should accordingly be reduced as follows: · Preparing Plaintiff’s discovery requests and notice of deposition: 2.8 hours to 1.5 hours (cutting $559.00); • Review of discovery responses and preparation of meet and confer letter: 4.5 hours to 2.0 hours (cutting $1,075.00); • Drafting motion to compel: 4.8 hours to 3.0 hours (cutting $774.00); • Drafting fee motion: 5.7 hours to 4.0 hours (cutting $765.00).
The above items total $3,173.00 in reductions from the requested lodestar. Defendant argues that 13.7 hours of time billed on this matter should be stricken because the work performed is clerical in nature. The Court agrees that time spent uploading files to counsel’s filing system is not recoverable, as these tasks are purely secretarial in nature and need not be performed by a paralegal. The hours billed for uploading documents total to 0.55 hours at a rate of $215/hour. Therefore, an additional $118.25 is deducted from the total requested fees.
Based on the Court’s experience and knowledge of the prevailing rates in the Orange County area for similar services, the Court finds the remaining number of hours and counsel’s hourly rates to be reasonable. Considering the above, the Motion for Attorney Fees is GRANTED in the total amount of $31,610.90. Plaintiff to give notice
108 Allies Tax Relief, Inc. vs. Allies Tax Services, Inc.
25-01483396 1. Motion to Lift Stay Plaintiff ALLIES TAX RELIEF, INC. (“Plaintiff”) moves this Court for an order lifting the stay imposed by the Court’s November 25, 2025, minute order and restoring this action to active litigation status. Plaintiff further requests that the Court restore or reset Plaintiff’s discovery matters previously taken off calendar pursuant to the stay. Motion is denied.
If a foreign corporation subject to Corp. Code §§ 2100 et seq. transacts intrastate business and fails to comply with the certification requirements of Corp. Code § 2105, it will not