(a)In any action on a contract, where the contract specifically provides that attorney’s fees and costs, which are incurred to enforce that contract, shall be awarded either to one of the parties or to the prevailing party, then the party who is determined to be the party prevailing on the contract, whether he or she is the party specified in the contract or not, shall be entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees in addition to other costs.
Where a contract provides for attorney’s fees, as set forth above, that provision shall be construed as applying to the entire contract, unless each party
was represented by counsel in the negotiation and execution of the contract, and the fact of that representation is specified in the contract.
Reasonable attorney’s fees shall be fixed by the court, and shall be an element of the costs of suit.
Attorney’s fees provided for by this section shall not be subject to waiver by the parties to any contract which is entered into after the effective date of this section. Any provision in any such contract which provides for a waiver of attorney’s fees is void.
(b)(1)The court, upon notice and motion by a party, shall determine who is the party prevailing on the contract for purposes of this section, whether or not the suit proceeds to final judgment. Except as provided in paragraph (2), the party prevailing on the contract shall be the party who recovered a greater relief in the action on the
contract. The court may also determine that there is no party prevailing on the contract for purposes of this section.
(2)Where an action has been voluntarily dismissed or dismissed pursuant to a settlement of the case, there shall be no prevailing party for purposes of this section.
Where the defendant alleges in his or her answer that he or she tendered to the plaintiff the full amount to which he or she was entitled, and thereupon deposits in court for the plaintiff, the amount so tendered, and the allegation is found to be true, then the defendant is deemed to be a party prevailing on the contract within the meaning of this section.
Where a deposit has been made pursuant to this section, the court shall, on the application of any party to the action, order the deposit to be invested in an insured, interest-bearing account. Interest on the amount shall be
allocated to the parties in the same proportion as the original funds are allocated.
(c)In an action which seeks relief in addition to that based on a contract, if the party prevailing on the contract has damages awarded against it on causes of action not on the contract, the amounts awarded to the party prevailing on the contract under this section shall be deducted from any damages awarded in favor of the party who did not prevail on the contract. If the amount awarded under this section exceeds the amount of damages awarded the party not prevailing on the contract, the net amount shall be awarded the party prevailing on the contract and judgment may be entered in favor of the party prevailing on the contract for that net amount.
Notes of Decisions
PLCM Grp., Inc. v. Drexler, 997 P.2d 511 (Cal. 2000).
· cites it 8× “II Civil Code section 1717, subdivision (a), provides in relevant part as follows: "In any action on a contract, where the contract specifically provides that attorney's fees and costs, which are incurred to enforce that contract, shall be awarded either to one of the parties or…”
Asphalt Prof'ls Inc. v. Davis (In re Davis), 595 B.R. 818 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 2019).
· cites it 31× “API contends it is not liable for Davis's attorneys' fees because: (A) the action is not an "action on a contract" for purposes of California Civil Code § 1717 ; (B) the language of the subcontract agreement *823 does not entitle Davis to an award of attorneys' fees; (C) Davis…”
Frog Creek Partners, LLC v. Vance Brown, Inc., 206 Cal. App. 4th 515 (Cal. Ct. App. 2012).
· cites it 9× “) Civil Code section 1717 governs awards of attorney fees based on a contract and authorizes an award of attorney fees “[i]n any action on a contract” to “the party prevailing on the contract” if the contract provides for an award of attorney fees.”
Psm Holding Corp. v. Nat'l Farm Fin. Corp., 884 F.3d 812 (9th Cir. 2018).
· cites it 6× “The panel held that the district court erred in awarding attorneys’ fees under California Civil Code § 1717, while simultaneously concluding that the judgment creditor had fully satisfied the obligations stemming from the operative judgments.”
Orozco v. WPV San Jose, LLC, 248 Cal. Rptr. 3d 623 (Cal. Ct. App. 5th 2019).
· cites it 5× “) Orozco further maintains that the guaranty contains a separate attorney's fees clause that provides an independent contractual basis to award him attorney's fees. Vornado contends that no attorney's fees are justified here given that the underlying action is not "on a…”
Santisas v. Goodin, 951 P.2d 399 (Cal. Ct. App. 1998).
· cites it 5× “” The issues here are these: When a plaintiff has voluntarily dismissed before trial an action asserting both tort and contract claims, all of which arise from a real estate sales contract containing a broadly worded attorney fee provision, may the defendant recover any of the…”
Wakefield v. Bohlin, 2006 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 11499 (Cal. Ct. App. 2006).
· cites it 10× “Contract Claims; Civil Code Section 1717 In contract actions, Civil Code section 1717 governs attorney fee agreements.”
Bank of N.Y. Mellon v. Lane (In Re Lane), 589 B.R. 399 (9th Cir. BAP 2018).
· cites it 11× “Appellants also appeal the bankruptcy court's denial of a continuance of the debtor's motion for summary judgment and the award of the debtor's attorney's fees under Cal. Civ. Code § 1717 . We AFFIRM the decision to deny a continuance and REVERSE the order awarding the debtor…”
Carver v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., 118 Cal. Rptr. 2d 569 (Cal. Ct. App. 2002).
· cites it 5× “The particular challenges Dealers make to the award are that it should have excluded fees and costs incurred in defense of (1) the Cartwright Act claims, as not authorized by contract; (2) the individual defendants, who were not parties to the lease; and (3) a negligence cause…”
Chinn v. KMR Prop. Mgmt., 166 Cal. App. 4th 175 (Cal. Ct. App. 2008).
· cites it 6× “) By amendment in 1981, Civil Code section 1717 was made applicable to any attorney fee provision in a contract action.”
Xuereb v. Marcus & Millichap, Inc., 3 Cal. App. 4th 1338 (Cal. Ct. App. 1992).
· cites it 6× “1 Civil Code section 1717 applies only to “any action on a contract, where the contract specifically provides [for an award of] attorney’s fees and costs, which are incurred to enforce that contract.”
— Cal. Civil Code § 1717(1) — 1 case
— Cal. Civil Code § 1717(a) — 71 cases
— Cal. Civil Code § 1717(b) — 1 case
— Cal. Civil Code § 1717(b)(1) — 12 cases
— Cal. Civil Code § 1717(b)(2) — 6 cases
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