In a breach of contract action, plaintiff franchisees appealed from a postjudgment order of the Superior Court of San Diego County, California, granting a prevailing defendant franchiser’s motion for contractual and statutory attorney fees, expert fees, and costs in the amount of $ 6,878,686.
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Overview
The dealers of various branches of a gas franchise filed an action against the franchiser and its management for damages for breach of contract, fraud, and alleged violations of California’s antitrust laws, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 16720, hereinafter the Cartwright Act. Dealers won a jury verdict awarding damages on some of their theories, but the judgment was reversed on appeal. On remand, the franchiser was deemed the prevailing party in the action as a whole and obtained an award of attorney fees. The question on review was whether the Cartwright Act permitted reciprocal contractual attorney fees. With respect to the portion of the attorney fees award that was not based on the contract, the trial court’s decision did erroneously attempt to award attorney fees under a reciprocal rights theory not permitted by the Cartwright Act. However, the attorney fees and costs award arising out of the lease agreement was permitted under the prevailing party provisions of the Cal. Code Civ. Proc. Code § 998.
Outcome
The judgment was affirmed in part, but reversed in part with directions.
