In this case arising from a consumer’s purchase of an allegedly defective car, the parties agreed to settle the case for a refund of $8,600 to the plaintiff. The settlement agreement provided that plaintiff was deemed the prevailing party and could move for an award of attorney fees and that while defendants did not concede liability and would not dispute entitlement to attorney fees, though they reserved the right to contest reasonableness of the fees requested. Held, a $128,000 fee award affirmed. By agreeing not to contest entitlement to fees, defendants waived the only arguments they raised on appeal; namely, (a) that because the dealer tendered a full refund, plaintiff could not recover fees under the CLRA or Rees-Levering Act, and (b) that the fees recoverable against the assignee of plaintiff’s retail installment contract were limited by the FTC Holder Rule to the amount plaintiff had paid under the contract.
California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 1 (Benke, Acting P.J.); September 19, 2017; 2017 WL 4247131