A recent opinion of the California Court of Appeal (click here to read) reversed a trial court’s decision to award attorney fees to the prevailing defendant homeowners in a real estate non-disclosure case. The reason: the standard California purchase agreement that included an attorney fee provision also required that the parties participate in mediation or forfeit the … Continue reading Ignore This Mediation Clause and Say Good-Bye to Your Attorney Fee Award
Indemnity Contracts and the Duty to Defend: You mean I have to pay even if I was not negligent?
Benjamin Franklin’s ” Poor Richard’s Almanack” had it right: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This was true for farmers in 1739 and it is true for lawyers and their clients in 2011. Not that Ben held farmers and lawyers in equal esteem,as you may notice when reading the following Franklin … Continue reading Indemnity Contracts and the Duty to Defend: You mean I have to pay even if I was not negligent?
Payment Bonds and Attorneys Fees: Leveling the Playing Field
Among the legal risks that must be analyzed in any litigation is the possibility of having to pay the other side’s attorney fees if one loses at trial. In many states, attorney fees are available to the prevailing party if there is a contract provision for attorney fees or when a statute provides for them. A new … Continue reading Payment Bonds and Attorneys Fees: Leveling the Playing Field