Filed 1/18/07 Glendale Nissan/Infiniti v. Brennan CA2/4
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.
Brennan, Wiener & Assocates, Robert A. Wiener and Agnes O. Martin for Defendants and Appellants.
Kulik, Gottesman, Mouton & Siegel, David S. Olson and Craig S. Berman for Plaintiffs and Respondents.
INTRODUCTION
In November 2004, respondents Glendale Nissan/Infiniti, Inc., and Sage Holding Co., filed an action against appellants Robert F. Brennan, Robert F. Brennan, a Professional Corporation (â€
Description
In November 2004, respondents filed an action against appellants ("the firm"), and other defendants, all attorneys in the same firm, who prevailed in a special motion to strike the complaint under the anti_SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) statute.Appellants now appeal from that part of the judgment denying their motion for attorney fees. In the trial court, respondents opposed the motion on the ground, among others, that appellants were not entitled to attorney fees because they had represented themselves. In reply, appellants argued that they had not appeared in propria persona, but were represented by retained counsel; they also asserted that attorneys associated with their firm were the equivalent of in-house counsel, for whose services they should be compensated, and that regardless of who represented them, the purposes and policies of the anti-SLAPP statute required the court to award attorney fees.
The trial court agreed with respondents, rejected appellants' arguments, and denied the motion for fees in its entirety. Court conclude that the trial court correctly denied attorney fees on the ground that appellants had represented themselves, and court affirm the judgment.
