SB 1306, as introduced, Stone. Consumer remedies: attorney’s fees and litigation costs: prevailing party.
Existing law, the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, authorizes a consumer who suffers damage from the use of unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts, as defined, to bring an action to recover damages or other relief. Existing law requires a court to award court costs and attorney’s fees to the prevailing plaintiff in an action brought pursuant to those provisions. Existing law also permits a court to award reasonable attorney’s fees to a prevailing defendant only if the court finds that the plaintiff’s prosecution of the action was not in good faith.
This bill would revise those provisions to instead require a court to award court costs and attorney’s fees to the prevailing party in the action.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 1780 of the Civil Code is amended to
2read:
(a) Any consumer who suffers any damage as a result
4of the use or employment by any person of a method, act, or
P2 1practice declared to be unlawful by Section 1770 may bring an
2action against that person to recover or obtain any of the following:
3(1) Actual damages, but in no case shall the total award of
4damages in a class action be less than one thousand dollars
5($1,000).
6(2) An order enjoining the methods, acts, or practices.
7(3) Restitution of property.
8(4) Punitive damages.
9(5) Any other relief that the court deems proper.
10(b) (1) Any consumer who is a senior citizen or a disabled
11person, as defined in subdivisions (f) and (g) of Section 1761, as
12part of an action under subdivision (a), may seek and be awarded,
13in addition to the remedies specified therein, up to five thousand
14dollars ($5,000) where the trier of fact does all of the following:
15(A) Finds that the consumer has suffered substantial physical,
16emotional, or economic damage resulting from the defendant’s
17conduct.
18(B) Makes an affirmative finding in regard to one or more of
19the factors set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 3345.
20(C) Finds that an additional award is appropriate.
21(2) Judgment in a class action
by senior citizens or disabled
22persons under Section 1781 may award each class member that
23additional award if the trier of fact has made the foregoing findings.
24(c) Whenever it is proven by a preponderance of the evidence
25that a defendant has engaged in conduct in violation of paragraph
26(24) of subdivision (a) of Section 1770, in addition to all other
27remedies otherwise provided in this section, the court shall award
28treble actual damages to the plaintiff. This subdivision shall not
29apply to attorneys licensed to practice law in California, who are
30subject to the California Rules of Professional Conduct and to the
31mandatory fee arbitration provisions of Article 13 (commencing
32with Section 6200) of Chapter 4 of Division 3 of the Business and
33Professions Code, when the fees charged or received are for
34providing representation in administrative agency appeal
35proceedings or court proceedings for purposes of procuring,
36maintaining, or securing
public social services on behalf of a person
37or group of persons.
38(d) An action under subdivision (a) or (b) may be commenced
39in the county in which the person against whom it is brought
40resides, has his or her principal place of business, or is doing
P3 1business, or in the county where the transaction or any substantial
2portion thereof occurred.
3In any action subject to this section, concurrently with the filing
4of the complaint, the plaintiff shall file an affidavit stating facts
5showing that the action has been commenced in a county described
6in this section as a proper place for the trial of the action. If a
7plaintiff fails to file the affidavit required by this section, the court
8shall, upon its own motion or upon motion of any party, dismiss
9the action without prejudice.
10(e) The court shall award court costs and attorney’s fees to a
11
prevailingbegin delete plaintiffend deletebegin insert partyend insert in litigation filed pursuant to this section.
12begin delete Reasonable attorney’s fees may be awarded to a prevailing
13defendant upon a finding by the court that the plaintiff’s
14prosecution of the action was not in good faith.end delete
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