Posts Tagged ‘Recovering fees’

A CONTRACTUAL MEDIATION PRECONDITION REQUIREMENT AND AN AWARD OF ATTORNEY’S FEES

Lange v. Schilling (2008) 163 Cal.App.4th 1412 holds that a party to a contract which provides that to receive attorney’s fees and costs a prevailing party must first attempt to mediate the matter before commencing arbitration or a court action may not receive such fees for failing to comply with that condition precedent.

The parties in Lange v. Schilling used a standard California residential property purchase agreement for the sale and purchase of a house. The agreement contains language that a prevailing party shall be entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees and costs but “shall not be entitled to recover (those) fees” if that party “commences an action without first attempting to resolve the matter through mediation, or refuses to mediate after a request has been made.”
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