Eng v. United Commercial Bank et al

Filing 57

ORDER FOR SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEFING by Magistrate Judge Bernard Zimmerman vacating hearing 51 Motion for Attorney Fees (bzsec, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 7/27/2010)

Eng v. United Commercial Bank et al

Doc. 57

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 v. UNITED COMMERCIAL BANK, et al, Defendant(s). MARTIN ENG, Plaintiff(s), ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

No. C09-5908 BZ ORDER FOR SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEFING

Having reviewed the papers filed in connection with defendant's motion for attorney's fees, IT IS ORDERED as follows: 1. By August 4, 2010, defendant shall file a

supplemental brief citing to any authority it has for the proposition that a party who drafts a narrow attorney's fee provision in a standardized contract, such as the one at issue here which appears to limit an award of fees to "actions to collect a note," may seek to interpret it to permit that party to collect the fees defendant seeks here. As the Court reads

both Hsu v. Abbara, 9 Cal.4th 863, (1995) and Pacific Custom 1
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Pools, Inc. v. Turner Constr. Co., 79 Cal.App.4th 1254 (2000), in those cases the court was interpreting provisions which awarded fees to the prevailing party, and the issue generally before the court was to identify the prevailing party. Here,

there is no issue over who prevailed; the issue is instead what is the scope of agreement between the parties with respect to fees. Section 1717, in the Court's view, merely

makes the fee provision reciprocal; it does not expand its scope. 2. If plaintiff wishes, he may respond to the

defendant's brief by August 11, 2010. 3. VACATED. required. Dated: July 27, 2010 The hearing presently scheduled for August 4, 2010 is The Court will scheduled a new hearing, if one is

Bernard Zimmerman United States Magistrate Judge
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