LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - Lawyers who won their client $70,000 in an employment dispute can collect half a million dollars in fees, but no additional interest, a California appeals court ruled
The Mayall Hurley Law firm represented Renee Vines in a lawsuit against O’Reilly Auto Enterprises claiming age and race discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Vines sought more than $2 million in damages but the jury rejected his discrimination and harassment claims and awarded $70,200 for retaliation.
Vines’ lawyers, led by Nicholas Scardigli, then sought $810,000 in fees under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The trial court only awarded $130,000, however, ruling the claims the jury rejected weren’t closely related to the ones he won. California’s Second Appellate District Court reversed that decision, ruling the retaliation arose from Vines’ complaints about discrimination and harassment, even if he ultimately lost those claims.
On the second trip to trial court, the judge awarded Mayall Hurley $518,000 in fees, including post-judgment interest from when the appeals court ruled in June 2022. The lawyers then asked for, and received, $139,000 in additional interest from the date of the original trial judgment.
O’Reilly appealed, and the Second Appellate District Court rejected the additional interest in an April 24 decision. The ruling hinged upon the difference between a reversal and a modification. When the appeals court reversed the original fee award, it instructed the trial court to revisit the question of whether the harassment and retaliation claims were closely related. That reset the interest clock until the new judgment was issued, the appeals court said.
Justice John Segal authored the opinion.