GMSR: Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP

Recent Win

5900 Wilshire Boulevard, 12th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90036
+1 310 859 7811
Home About Us Attorneys Library Practice News Contact Us Site Map
Court affirms denial of attorney fee award to opponent of GMSR’s public entity client
May 23, 2011

Martinez v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (2011) 195 Cal. App. 4th 1038 (California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division One) [published]. Plaintiff accepted a settlement offer under Code of Civil Procedure section 998 from GMSR’s client, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The offer provided that each party bear its own costs, but said nothing about attorney fees. The trial court denied plaintiff’s subsequent motion for statutory attorney fees on the ground that they were costs plaintiff had agreed to bear. The Court of Appeal affirmed. Creating a new “bright-line rule,” the court held: “Unless the offer expressly states otherwise, an offer of a monetary compromise under section 998 that excludes ‘costs’ also excludes attorney fees.”

Opinion
Martinez v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (2011) 195 Cal. App. 4th 1038

Attorneys
Martin Stein
Carolyn Oill
Gary J. Wax


Other Recent Wins in Civil Procedure


Previous | Next

[ Recent Wins ]