AAWestwood, LLC v. Liberal Arts 677 Benevolent Fou
This appeal concerns the interplay between “prevailing party” findings under Code of Civil Procedure section 1032, subdivision (a)(4) (section 1032(a)(4)) and Civil Code section 1717 (section 1717). In this case, the judgment declared defendant Liberal Arts 677 Benevolent Foundation the prevailing party in the lawsuit under section 1032(a)(4). Postjudgment, defendant sought attorney fees under section 1717 as the prevailing party on the contract. The trial court denied the section 1717 motion without finding that defendant was not the prevailing party on the contract. The record fails to demonstrate as a matter of law that defendant either was or was not the prevailing party on the contract. Accordingly, we reverse and remand the matter to the trial court to determine in the first instance whether defendant prevailed on the contract under section 1717.
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