California Court of Appeal

In a toxic tort action following a jury trial that resulted in mistrial, award of attorney's fees and sanctions to defendants is reversed where there was no legal basis for the attorney's fees, costs, and expert witness fees awarded as sanctions against plaintiffs and their attorneys. Grant of a renewed motion to dismiss in favor of one defendant is also reversed where, even without excluded material, plaintiffs had sufficient evidence to support a jury verdict against defendant. Summary judgment and award of expert witness fees under Code of Civil Procedure section 998 in favor of the state are affirmed where there was no abuse of discretion in the fact or amount of such award.

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/24/2008
• Published 07/24/2008

Judges

• MARGULIES, J.

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Dell'Ario & LeBoeuf, Alan Charles Dell'Ario and Jacques LeBoeuf, Oakland;  Gonzalez & Robinson, Joseph D. Gonzalez and Keith A. Robinson, Westlake Village, for Plaintiffs and Appellants., Eisenberg and Hancock, Jon B. Eisenberg, Oakland, and William N. Hancock, San Francisco, for Objectors and Appellants Keith A. Robinson and Gonzalez & Robinson., Waxler Carner Weinreb Brodsky, Andrew J. Waxler, El Segudo, and Gretchen S. Carner, for Objector and Appellant Charles D. Cochran.


• For Appellees:
  
• Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, David Chaney, Chief Assistant Attorney General, James Schiavenza, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Tyler B. Pon and David W. Hamilton, Deputy Attorneys General, for Defendant and Respondent State of California., Barg Coffin Lewis & Trapp, John F. Barg, San Francisco, and Jonathan Polland, for Defendant and Respondent Union Pacific Railroad Company., Collette Erickson Farmer & O'Neill, John V. Erickson, San Francisco, and Robert S. Lawrence, for Defendant and Respondent Optical Coating Laboratory, Inc.