Memorandum of Costs: Not Required for Fee Award Under Civil Code 1717

  Must a party, seeking an award of contractual attorney fees pursuant to Civil Code section 1717, also file a timely memorandum of costs? No, writes the court in Kaufman v. Diskeeper Corporaton. The only requirement is that the party file a timely noticed motion. That motion must be served and filed within the time for filing a notice of appeal pursuant to California Rules of Court, Rule 3.1702(b)(1).

  The rule is different when attorney fees are fixed by formula without the necessity of court determination. Pursuant to subdivision (e) of Rule 3.1702: “If a party is entitled to statutory or contractual attorney’s fees that are fixed without the necessity of a court determination, the fees must be claimed in the memorandum of costs.”

Enforcement of Judgment: Attorney Fees as Costs, Privity Not Required

  Code of Civil Procedure section 685.040 authorizes the court to award a judgment creditor attorney fees incurred in enforcing a judgment if the underlying judgment included an award of fees as costs. Continue reading