February 1, 2022

Duff v. Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (January 27, 2022, D078100)

Under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (Civ. Code, § 1790 et seq.), a prevailing buyer may recover costs and expenses, including attorney’s fees (Civ. Code, § 1794, subd. (d)).

A plaintiff prevailed on one of three claims under Song-Beverly and was awarded $1 in nominal damages. The trial court awarded plaintiff $684,250 in attorney’s fees because judgment was entered for plaintiff on the one claim decided in plaintiff’s favor.

The Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the purpose of the Song-Beverly Act is not to mechanically award attorney’s fees and that the trial court applied the wrong legal standard. The court ordered the trial court, on remand, to apply the majority approach to determine whether the plaintiff prevailed—asking to what extent the buyer achieved his litigation objectives.