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contractplaintiffdefendantattorneydiscoverystatuteprecedentappealleasecase lawcivil procedure
plaintiffattorneyappeallease

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Fidelity Nat’l Fin., Inc. v. Friedman, Not Reported in Fed. Supp., 2011 WL 13182975

Facts

Plaintiffs Fidelity National Financial, Inc. and Fidelity Express Network, Inc. sought to collect on a judgment against Defendant Farid Meshkatai. After Meshkatai obstructed Plaintiffs' post-judgment efforts to obtain information, the court ordered him to produce documents, which he failed to do, resulting in a contempt ruling. The court sanctioned Meshkatai and his attorney, Allen Hyman, awarding Plaintiffs $39,717.50 in attorney's fees and $4,652.78 in costs, totaling $44,370.28. Hyman appealed the sanctions and posted a bond to stay execution of the judgment.

After Meshkatai stonewalled Plaintiffs' post-judgment efforts to obtain relevant information, Plaintiffs obtained a detailed order from Magistrate Judge Zarefsky that required Meshkatai to produce 29 categories of documents by a specified date.

Issue

Whether Fidelity is entitled to an additional award of attorneys' fees incurred in opposing Hyman's unsuccessful appeal of the sanctions.

Fidelity and Hyman dispute whether Fidelity is also entitled to an additional award of the attorneys' fees it incurred in defending against Hyman's unsuccessful appeal of the sanction award.

Rule

Under California Code of Civil Procedure section 685.040, a judgment creditor is entitled to reasonable costs of enforcing a judgment, including attorneys' fees if the underlying judgment includes an award of attorney's fees to the judgment creditor. Additionally, Ninth Circuit case law suggests that attorney's fees should be awarded when a discovery order is upheld on appeal.

Although attorneys' fees are not ordinarily recoverable as costs under this provision, they are recoverable 'if the underlying judgment includes an award of attorney's fees to the judgment creditor pursuant to [section 1033.5(a)(10)(A)].'

Analysis

The court analyzed whether Fidelity could recover attorneys' fees against Hyman based on the underlying judgment and relevant statutes. Although the judgment included an award of attorneys' fees against Meshkatai, the court needed to determine if section 685.040 allowed for recovery against Hyman, who was not a party to the contract. The court also considered Ninth Circuit precedent, which generally supports awarding attorneys' fees when sanctions are upheld on appeal.

This authority appears to authorize the attorneys' fees award that Fidelity requests.

Conclusion

The court ordered the release of $44,370.28 from Hyman's bond to Plaintiffs and required Hyman to submit a supplemental memorandum addressing whether Fidelity is entitled to additional attorneys' fees based on Ninth Circuit case law.

For the foregoing reasons, the Court ORDERS that $44,370.28 of the bond that Hyman posted with the Court be released and distributed to Plaintiffs.

Who won?

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. and Fidelity Express Network, Inc. prevailed in the case as the court ordered the release of the contempt sanction funds and required Hyman to address the additional attorneys' fees request.

Ultimately, the Court awarded Plaintiffs $39,717.50 in attorney's fees and $4,652.78 in costs as a sanction.

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