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Stevens v. 396 Investment Co.5/17/2005
ount.
Also, Anaheim fails to articulate the exact nature of the $427,990 amount it contends should be offset against the proposed $187,466 attorney fee amount. It vaguely describes the $427,990 figure as a settlement payment from 396. However, we have already stated that the Stevenses' judgment must be remanded for a correct determination of offsets.
Most importantly, however, Anaheim largely ignores the various factors that a court should take into consideration in determining the amount of a fee award in an inverse condemnation case. The court is charged with determining both whether the fees were actually incurred and whether the fees were reasonable. (Andre v. City of West Sacramento, supra, 92 Cal.App.4th at p. 539.) Anaheim tries to convince us that the amount of fees incurred was less than the amount awarded, because of its offset theory. As we have stated, however, it cites no authority for the proposition that offsets must be applied in the manner it suggests in determining attorney fee awards. Moreover, we observe that at least one case has held that the determination of fees should not be based solely on the contingency agreement. (Salton Bay Marina, Inc. v. Imperial Irrigation Dist., supra, 172 Cal.App.3d at p. 957.)
Anaheim overlooks the question of whether the fees awarded were reasonable. The Stevenses' attorney declared that his law firm had expended 5,117 hours on the case over a period of seven years. In reviewing the Stevenses' fee request, the court remarked that there had been two trials, the first one lasting three months and the second lasting six to eight weeks. After discounting some of the hours worked, to a total of approximately 3,300 approved hours, and allocating 1,100 hours to each of the three groups of plaintiffs that had been represented collectively, the court concluded that the fee was reasonable at a rate of approximately $350 per hour.
As this shows, the court did not apply a mathematical offset formula of the type Anaheim desires. Rather, it looked at the total number of hours worked, the stature of the law firm, the number of years involved, the number of trials involved, and the length of the trials. These are all appropriate factors for consideration. (See Salton Bay Marina, Inc. v. Imperial Irrigation Dist., supra, 172 Cal.App.3d at pp. 957-958.) Anaheim makes no mention of the court's analysis and makes no effort to state why the fees as so awarded are unreasonable. In short, it fails to show either that the trial court abused its discretion in making the award of attorney fees to the Stevenses or that award was not reasonable. (See id. at p. 950 [award of attorney fees in inverse condemnation action within sound discretion of trial court]; Andre v. City of West Sacramento, supra, 92 Cal.App.4th at pp. 536-539 [in inverse condemnation action, attorney fees must be actually incurred and reasonable].) The attorney fee award is affirmed.
(9) Wongs
The Wongs sought $375,996.24 in attorney fees. They explained that they had agreed to pay their attorney a contingency fee amount equal to one-third of their recovery. They multiplied the fair market value of their property, as stated in the special verdict, by one-third to arrive at the amount of their fee request.
Although Anaheim cites no portion of the appellant's appendix containing a copy of any order awarding attorney fees to the Wongs, it does cite a portion of the reporter's transcript in which the court announced an award of $338,396. The Wongs do not contend that the court ordered otherwise. Thus, it appears the court applied a reduction of $37,600.24 to the amount sought.
Anaheim claims the Wongs were entitled to no a
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