Attorney Fees Incurred In Enforcement Of Anti Slapp Attorney Fee Award Are Recoverable Costs

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In York v. Strong (2015) 234 Cal.App.4th 1471, the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District reviewed an attorney fee award and a post‑judgment attorney fee award under the SLAPP suit statute.

The Defendant successfully defended a SLAPP suit brought by the Plaintiff. The judgment contained an attorney fee award of $21,840.00. The Defendant incurred additional fees in attempts to enforce the original judgment. The Defendant filed a petition seeking an additional award of post‑judgment fees for those expenses, arguing such fees were recoverable under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 685.040. The trial court denied the motion.

The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s decision, noting that Section 685.040 provides that attorney’s fees incurred in enforcing a judgment are “not included in costs collectible…unless otherwise provided by law.” The statute does, however, include an exception: when the underlying judgment includes an award of attorney fees pursuant to Section 1033.5(a)(10)(A). Section 1033.5(a)(10)(A), in turn, lists types of attorney fees recoverable as costs, which are those “authorized by…(A) Contract, (B) Statute, or (C) Law.”

The Court of Appeal also noted that in Ketchum v. Moses (2001) 24 Cal.4th 1122, 1141, n. 6, the California Supreme Court held that attorney fees incurred in an effort to enforce a fee judgment obtained under the anti‑SLAPP law do qualify as recoverable costs under Section 685.040. The appellate court noted that the court’s clear interpretation rendered it unnecessary to undergo a further statutory interpretation of Sections 685.040 and 1033.5. The court ultimately concluded that the trial court’s denial was improper.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

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