Gardenland Properties vs. Blum & Sons Electric

202200572420CUBC: Gardenland Properties vs. Blum & Sons Electric 06/16/2026 in Department 20 Motion for Attorney Fees/Costs

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Motion: Cross-Complainant Paul Dean Olsen dba Olsen & Sons Construction Co.’s (“Olsen”) Motion for Attorney’s Fees in the Amount of $98,132.50 as the Prevailing Party on the Cross-Complaint to be Paid by Cross-Defendant Gardenland Properties, LLC; Request for Attorney’s Fees and Costs for Bringing Motion for $7,280.00

Tentative: Olsen’s unopposed Motion for Attorney’s Fees in the Amount of $98,132.50 as the Prevailing Party on the Cross-Complaint to be Paid by Cross-Defendant Gardenland Properties, LLC; Request for Attorney’s Fees and Costs for Bringing Motion for $7,280.00, is GRANTED as follows:

202200572420CUBC: Gardenland Properties vs. Blum & Sons Electric

1. Olsen is awarded attorney’s fees in the total amount of $99,332.50 ($94,932.50 in attorney’s fees for the litigation of the cross-complaint through trial + $4,400.00 in attorney’s fees for the preparation and hearing of the within motion) against Cross-Defendant Gardenland Properties, LLC.

2. Costs of $38,793.86 shall be entered by the clerk on the judgment pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 3.1700, subdivision (b)(4).

Counsel for Olsen shall provide notice and shall prepare, serve, and file a proposed amended judgment consistent with this ruling.

Discussion:

Olsen is entitled to recover his attorney’s fees pursuant to Civil Code section 1717. In reviewing Olsen’s request for fees, the court calculates the reasonable hours spent multiplied by the reasonable hourly rate. (PLCM Group v. Drexler (2000) 22 Cal.4th 1084, 1095 (“PCLM”); See also Ketchum v. Moses (2001) 24 Cal.4th 1122, 1131-1132.)

Hours Expended

The party seeking recovery of attorney’s fees bears the burden of establishing that the fees incurred were reasonably necessary to the conduct of the litigation and were reasonable in amount. (Mikhaeilpoor v. BMW of N. Am., LLC (2020) 48 Cal.App.5th 240, 247.) Attorney Laurence Hall provides a declaration summarizing the hours worked by him and by legal assistant Becky Tucker. The hours expended in total by each appear reasonable in amount for this case. However, the Court subtracts $3,200.00 claimed by Olsen for preparation and appearance at the motions to compel filed on May 30, 2024, and heard July 15, 2024. The Honorable Matthew P. Guasco has already awarded monetary sanctions for the time reasonably spent on both motions.

Hourly Rate

“The reasonable hourly rate is that prevailing in the community for similar work.” (PLCM, supra, 22 Cal.4th at 1095; Syers Properties III, Inc. v. Rankin (2014) 226 Cal.App.4th 691, 700; Altavion, Inc. v. Konica Minorlta Sys., Lab., Inc. (2014) 226 Cal.App.4th 26.) A judge may rely on personal knowledge and familiarity with the legal market in setting a reasonable hourly rate. (Heritage Pac. Fin. LLC v. Monroy (2013) 215 Cal.App.4th 972, 1009.) A judge may reasonably reduce an attorney’s requested rate if the judge finds that the matter was not complex. (Morris v. Hyundai Motor Am. (2019) 41 Cal.App.5th 24, 41.) The burden is on the successful party to prove the appropriate market rate to be used in calculating the lodestar. (Blum v. Stenson (1984) 465 U.S. 886, 895, n. 11.) The Court is satisfied that the hourly rate of Mr. Hall and Ms. Tucker are reasonable for Ventura County.

Accordingly, the Court enters its ORDER awarding Olsen his attorney’s fees in the total amount of $99,332.50 against Cross-Defendant Gardenland Properties, LLC.

202200572420CUBC: Gardenland Properties vs. Blum & Sons Electric

Costs

The Memorandum of Costs was filed on November 5, 2025. No motion to tax costs has been filed. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1700, subd. (b)(1).) Costs of $ 38,793.86 shall be entered by the clerk pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 3.1700, subdivision (b)(4).

Counsel for Olsen shall provide notice and shall prepare, serve, and file a proposed amended judgment consistent with this ruling.

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