de la Cuesta v. Benham, 193 Cal. App. 4th 1287 (2011)

Citation: de la Cuesta v. Benham, 193 Cal. App. 4th 1287 (2011)
Parent Document: de la Cuesta v. Benham, 193 Cal. App. 4th 1287 (2011)
Jurisdiction: California (state)
Effective Date: 2011-03-29
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/5810133/de-la-cuesta-v-benham/ ↗

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But the trial court’s approach “oversimplified its duties” simply by “counting the number of contract claims presented.” (Silver Creek, supra, 173 Cal.App.4th at p. 1540.) (We note: Essentially, the Silver Creek court was thus condemning the simple “good news bad news” approach to § 1717 when it is done without reflection on the relative litigation success of the respective parties.) The court noted the relative disparity in the importance of the two issues as represented by the money involved: $29.75 million for the termination issue (i.e., who would ultimately gain possession of the property) versus $1.13 million for the deposit issue. Hence it was clear that the seller had obtained its “main litigation objective,” had “obtained the greater relief on the contract,” and it was thus an abuse of discretion for the trial court not to have declared the seller the prevailing party. (173 Cal.App.4th at pp. 1540-1541.)

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