Attorney Fees – Case Law Wire

Utah Attorney Fees Civil Procedure Family Law

Court of Appeals of Utah

Paulson v. Paulson — Expert Exclusion Was Harmless and Premarital Agreement Could Not Bar Statutory Attorney Fees in High-Asset Divorce

/ July 18, 2026

The Utah Court of Appeals reversed an expert exclusion and attorney fees denial in a high-asset divorce arising from a California-law premarital agreement, holding that a technically deficient expert disclosure was harmless where the disclosing party promptly provided a full report and offered deposition access, and that a premarital agreement’s separate-property clause cannot waive a spouse’s right to attorney fees under Utah Code § 81-1-203(1).

Massachusetts Attorney Fees Civil Conspiracy Civil Rights

Massachusetts Appeals Court

Uncategorized

Haverhill Stem LLC v. Jennings — Absolute Litigation Privilege Does Not Shield Extortionate Threats Made Outside Judicial Proceedings; Civil Conspiracy Fails Without a Recognized Underlying Tort

/ July 15, 2026

The Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed MCRA and defamation verdicts against neighboring property owners who mounted a campaign of threats and false statements against a cannabis retailer’s permit and property rights, holding that the absolute litigation privilege did not shield demands and defamatory statements made in private meetings and community settings unrelated to the defendants’ pending Land Court lawsuits. The civil conspiracy judgment was reversed because the underlying “extortion” theory was tied to a c. 93A claim on which the defendants had prevailed; extortion is not a freestanding civil tort in Massachusetts. The $178,743.25 MCRA attorney’s fee award was affirmed as timely and reasonable; fee petitions under civil rights statutes are not subject to the Rule 59(e) deadline and need not be proportionate to damages.

Nevada Attorney Fees Civil Procedure Offer of Judgment

Nevada Supreme Court

Uncategorized

Clark v. Marin — Nevada Supreme Court Overrules Capriati; NRCP 68 Fees Limited to Post-Offer Work Only

/ July 4, 2026

The Nevada Supreme Court, en banc, overruled Capriati Construction Corp. v. Yahyavi and held that NRCP 68 attorney fee awards in contingency cases must reflect only the value of work performed after the offer of judgment was served — not the entire contingency fee — because fees are incurred as work is performed, not at the time of judgment. The court reversed an $818,047 award covering a 40 percent contingency fee in a case where the offer was served just 24 days before trial, four years into litigation.

Nevada Appellate Procedure Attorney Fees Civil Procedure

Nevada Supreme Court

Uncategorized

Lytle v. September Trust — Actual Billing Rate Controls Lodestar Calculation Unless Discounted for Public Interest

/ July 4, 2026

The Nevada Supreme Court reversed a 43 percent markup on an attorney fee award under NRS 22.100(3), holding that for a paying client with private counsel at a freely negotiated hourly rate, the billed rate presumptively establishes the market rate for lodestar calculations. A district court may award a higher rate only when the applicant demonstrates the firm discounted its rates for pro bono or public-interest representation — a finding that the firm “could have charged more” is insufficient.

New York Attorney Fees Breach of Contract llc-law

Appellate Division, First Department

Uncategorized

Pryor Cashman LLP v. Wiener — First Department Allows Personal Liability Claims Against LLC Managing Member for $650,000 in Unpaid Legal Fees to Proceed

/ June 27, 2026

The Appellate Division, First Department affirmed denial of dismissal of claims against a real estate LLC’s managing member personally for unpaid legal fees of approximately $650,000, finding the allegations of personal assurances, direct billing instructions, and a phantom entity sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss.