Aguilar & Sebastinelli, a professional law corporation v. 1700 California Street, LLC
Published: Jun. 15, 2004 | Result Date: Jan. 15, 2004 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 408828 Bench Decision – $0
Judge
Court
San Francisco Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Cory Creath
(technical)
Defendant
Randall I. Barkan
(technical)
Facts
The plaintiff law firm, Aguilar & Sebastinelli, sought to rescind its commercial lease on a theory of fraudulent inducement, claiming that the landlord and its agents had verbally promised to make tenant improvements and failed to manage the property properly. The plaintiff also sought restitution of rent paid in the amount of $703,199 and to have future rental obligations and personal guarantees extinguished. Following the plaintiff's dismissal of the action with prejudice during the trial, the defendant landlord, 1700 California Street, LLC, moved to recover its costs including attorney fees as the prevailing party. The defendant argued that the plaintiff's dismissal of the rescission action, based on a tort theory, entitled it to its costs under the lease. The plaintiff contended that the action was primarily on the contract. Thus, its voluntary dismissal precluded the award of attorney fees.
Damages
The plaintiff sought reimbursement of $703,199 rent paid, release of future rent obligations, and the costs of litigation.
Other Information
The defendant, as prevailing party, was awarded costs of $481,928, including attorney fees of$460,951, plus interest. Other fees totaling $20,977 were also awarded.
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