Morrison v. Vineyard Creek L.P., 193 Cal. App. 4th 1254 (2011)

Citation: Morrison v. Vineyard Creek L.P., 193 Cal. App. 4th 1254 (2011)
Parent Document: Morrison v. Vineyard Creek L.P., 193 Cal. App. 4th 1254 (2011)
Jurisdiction: California (state)
Effective Date: 2011-03-29
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/5810131/morrison-v-vineyard-creek-lp/ ↗

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Quoting Planned Parenthood, Morrison contends that “an ‘opposing party’s admission or nonadmission of liability is irrelevant’ for the purposes of a statutory fee award.” (Planned Parenthood v. Aakhus, supra, 14 Cal.App.4th at p. 174.) The court in that case actually stated: “An opposing party’s admission or nonadmission of liability is irrelevant for purposes of an award pursuant to [Code of Civil Procedure] section 1021.5. [IQ The statute contains no language requiring as a prerequisite that the opposing party admit to legal wrongdoing.” (Ibid., italics added.) Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5 is not at issue in this appeal. We will assume, without deciding, that this rule also applies where, as here, attorney fees are sought under Civil Code section 1942.5 or Government Code section 12989.2, subdivision (a). We will also assume, without deciding, that the standard for determining a “successful” party under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5 may be considered in determining the “prevailing” party under Civil Code section 1942.5 and Government Code section 12989.2, subdivision (a). (See Donner Management Co. v. Schaffer (2006) 142-Cal.App.4th 1296, 1310 [48 Cal.Rptr.3d 534] [discussing prevailing party standard where not defined by statute].) We make this assumption because the parties do not distinguish between a “successful” party and a “prevailing” party under the respective statutes, and any such distinction would not, in this case, affect the disposition of the appeal.

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