N O T FO R PUB L ICAT IO N UNITED STATES C OUR T OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH C IR C UIT
In re : ALLANA B AR ONI,

De btor,

______________________________ ALLANA B AR ONI,

Appe lla nt,
v. C IT B ANK N.A., FKA One W e st B ank, FSB , FKA One W e st B ank, NA,

Appe lle e . No. 18-55514 D.C . No. 2:17-c v-07947-SVW
M EM O R ANDUM *

Appe a l from

the Unite d

Stat e s Distric t C ourt for the C e ntra l Distric t of C a lifornia Ste phe n V. W ilson, Distric t Judge , Pre s iding Subm itte d Oc tobe r 22, 2019 * * Pa sa de n a , C a l ifornia 

# FIL ED OCT 24 2019 M OLLY C. DW Y ER, CLERK U
. S. CO URT O F APPEALS

* This disposition is not a ppropria te for public a t ion a

nd is not pre c e de nt e xc e pt a s provide d

by Ninth C irc uit R

ule 36-3.

* * The pa

ne l una nim ously c onc lude s this c a se is suita ble for de c ision without ora l a

rgum e nt. Se e Fe d. R . App. P. 34(a )(2).B e fore : C ALLAHAN a nd OW ENS, C irc uit Judge s, a n d RESTANI, * ** Judge
. Afte r the B a

nkruptc y C ourt (B C ) grante d sum m ary judgm e nt for One W e st B ank (OW B ) on Alla

na B aroni’ s c ha lle nge to OW B ’ s c la im unde r a prom issory note , B aroni a

p pe a le d from

the B C ’ s a

ward of attorne y s’ fe e s to OW B . The distric t c o urt a ffirm e d , and B a roni a ppe a le d to our c o urt. B aroni c ha lle nge s only the a m ount of the fe e s a

w arde d ($538,323), a sse rting tha t OW B did not provide

the B C with suffic ie n t de ta il to support the award.

“ W e re vie w de c isions of the ba nkruptc y c o urt inde pe nde ntly

without de fe re nc e to the distric t c ourt’ s de te rm inat ion.” Higgins v . Vorte x Fishing Sy

s., Inc
. , 379 F.3d 701, 705 (9th C ir. 2004) (c ita tion om itte d ). W e re v i e w a ba nkruptc y c ourt’ s a w ard of attorne y s’ fe e s for a buse of disc re tion. Ibrahim v . U.S. De p’t of Home land Se c urity , 912 F.3d 1147, 1166 (9th C ir. 2019) (e n ba n c ). A de c ision is
an a b use of disc re tion if it is ba se d on a n e rrone ous c onc lusion of la w or if the
re c o rd c onta ins no e vide nc e on whic h it ra tiona lly c ould ha v e be e n ba se d
. Stange r
v . C hina Ele c . Motor, Inc
. , 812 F.3d 734, 738 (9th C ir. 2016) (pe r c uriam ). B aroni ha s not shoulde re d he r burde n of showing tha t the B C ’ s a

w ard of
a ttorne y s’ fe e s wa s an a

buse o f disc re tion or ina de q ua te to a l low a

ppe lla te re vie w.

* * * The Honora

ble Ja ne A. R e sta

ni, Judge for the Unite d State s C ourt of Inte rna tiona l Tra de , sitting by de signa tion. 2B aroni doe s not a lle ge tha t the B C ba s e d its de c ision on a n e rrone ous c onc l usion of la w. R a the r, she a sse rts tha t OW B fa ile d to pre se nt the B C with suffic ie nt
e vide nc e to support its a

pplic a tion for a

ttorne y s’ fe e s. Howe ve r, the B C de vote d
se ve n pa g e s of its de c ision to a ddre ssing there a sona ble ne s s of the fe e and
c onc lude d tha

t the de c la

ration file d unde r se a l wa s suffic ie n tly de ta ile d to e sta blish the re a sona

ble n e ss of the se rvic e s re n de re d. The B C c onside re d B a roni’ s obje c tions to the

am ount of a

ttorne y s’ fe e s re que s te d by OW B . It disa llowe d $82,006 in fe e s, whic h re duc e d the award to $538,323, a nd de te rm ine d

tha t OW B ha d “ suffe re d c onside ra

ble le g a l e xpe nse a s a

re sult of [B a

roni’ s ] a ggre ssive litiga tion ta c tic s,” whic h we re unsuc c e ssful a nd inc lude d thre e frivolous a ppe a ls. The c onc l usory

a lle ga tions in B aroni’ s brie f fa il to spe c ific a l ly c ha lle nge the B C ’ s de te rm inat ion tha

t the billing re c ords a

nd de c la ra t ion a de quate ly

supporte d the a ward. The distric t c ourt’ s a ffirm anc e of the B C ’ s a ward of attorne y s’ fe e s is AFFIRM E D
.

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