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Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 128', '§ 128', '§ 128', '§ 128', '§ 128', '§ 2034', '§ 556', '§ 800', '§ 1341', '§ 583', '§ 583', '§ 2034', '§ 2033', '§ 128', '§ 128', '§ 128', '§ 128', '§ 128', '§ 128', '§ 128', '§ 128', '§ 128', '§ 128', '§ 128', '§ 128', '§ 128', '§ 907', '§ 128', 'art 3']

Dwyer v. Crocker National Bank (1987) :: :: California Court of Appeal Decisions :: California Case Law :: California Law :: US Law :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › California Case Law › Cal. App. 3d › Volume 194 › Dwyer v. Crocker National Bank (1987)
Dwyer v. Crocker National Bank (1987)
[No. B009724. Court of Appeals of California, Second Appellate District, Division One. September 23, 1987.]
DUANE J. DWYER et al., Plaintiffs, Cross-defendants and Appellants, v. CROCKER NATIONAL BANK, Defendant, Cross-complainant and Respondent; ELEANOR LAUN, Defendant and Respondent; FOREMOST INSURANCE COMPANY, Cross-complainant and Respondent; MOTOR HOLIDAYS, LTD., Cross-defendant and Appellant; LON B. ISAACSON, Appellant
(Opinion by Woods, J., with Spencer, P. J., and Lucas, J., concurring.)
Dennis A. Fischer Michael Heumann, Marer, Marer & Schuck and Gerald Z. Marer for Plaintiffs, Cross-defendants and Appellants and for Cross-defendant and Appellant and for Appellant.
Zobrist & McCullough, Zobrist, Vienna & McCullough, Burton V. McCullough and Martin J. Roth for Defendant, Cross-complainant and Respondent and for Defendant and Respondent and for Cross-complainant and Respondent. [194 Cal. App. 3d 1423]
This appeal is also taken from the order of Judge Carlos E. Velarde, made following the verdict and after a three-day hearing, wherein sanctions were imposed against the aforementioned appellants and their attorney, Lon B. Isaacson, also an appellant herein, in the additional amount of $75,258 pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure fn. 1 section 128.5, in favor of the respondents herein. fn. 2
The appeal is timely. [194 Cal. App. 3d 1424]
On February 23, 1982, Crocker and Foremost filed a cross-complaint against Dwyer, M.H.'s-Cal., and M.H.'s-Del., seeking compensatory and punitive damages on five theories of relief sounding in declaratory relief, fraud and deceit, negligent misrepresentation, an accounting and constructive trust. The cross-complaint contained allegation that a draft issued by Foremost in the amount of $3,541.93 was endorsed by Dwyer for "Motor Holidays" under false pretenses and that the proceeds of the draft belonged to the named payees, Bank of America and one Montieth Lee Bolin, lien holders on a motor home, for repairs to the motor home by "Motor Holidays," named the "Captain Lee." The cross-complaint contained further allegations that "Motor Holidays" had already been paid for the repairs by reason of a prior insurance claim to Canadian Indemnity Insurance Company for the same damages. fn. 3
On July 14, 1982, the Honorable Sara K. Radin imposed sanctions against Dwyer, individually and as an officer of "Motor Holidays," for failure to comply with discovery initiated by Crocker, Foremost and Laun and supervised by the appointed special referee, retired Superior Court Judge Sidney Kaufman. Judge Radin's order prohibited Dwyer or any officer of "Motor Holidays" from introducing evidence at trial, or by motion to support or oppose designated claims or defenses relating to Dwyer's refusal to render discovery. [194 Cal. App. 3d 1425]
Further, Judge Carlos E. Velarde imposed additional sanctions under CCP § 128.5 fn. 4 in the amount of $75,258, as attorneys fees and costs, to Foremost, Crocker and Laun, which were ordered to be paid one-half by Dwyer and "Motor Holidays," and one-half by their Attorney Lon B. Isaacson who was made jointly and severally liable with Dwyer and "Motor Holidays" for payment of the latter one-half of the sanctions.
2. Judge Carlos E. Velarde erroneously imposed sanctions against Dwyer and his counsel following the trial for an alleged series of frivolous actions and bad faith tactics, designed to allegedly cause delay or hinder the attempts of the opposing parties to present their case. [194 Cal. App. 3d 1426]
3. Appellants did not receive sufficient notice of the grounds and the extreme amounts sought and subsequently awarded by the trial court in sanctions under CCP § 128.5.
The facts pertinent to the issues raised in this appeal and construed in the light most favorable to the judgment and orders of the trial court (People v. Johnson (1980) 26 Cal. 3d 557, 558 [162 Cal. Rptr. 431, 606 P.2d 738, 16 A.L.R.4th 1255]) are as follows:
On June 10, 1982, in Department 81 of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Judge Sara K. Radin made an order appointing retired Superior Court Judge Sidney Kaufman as a special referee to supervise discovery and to make a report to the court. Judge Kaufman was appointed to attend and [194 Cal. App. 3d 1427] supervise the deposition of Dwyer, and Dwyer was ordered to pay the cost of the referee in advance at the beginning of each deposition session. Dwyer failed to pay the referee's fees and asserted that he was without funds with which to make payment. During the course of the trial, however, this assertion proved to be false and Dwyer's ability to pay was confirmed when Dwyer's accountant, one Harry Olds, testified that Dwyer earned $6,000 to $7,000 a month. Judge Radin imposed additional discovery sanctions against Dwyer in the amount of $1,260, which Dwyer also persisted in refusing to pay until Trial Judge Velarde ordered him again to make payments following the testimony of his accountant.
At another session of Dwyer's deposition, before the referee, Judge Kaufman, Dwyer refused to answer any questions regarding "Motor Holidays" claims unless ordered to do so by Judge Kaufman. Judge Kaufman cited Dwyer for contempt for refusal to be deposed and on July 14, 1982, Judge Radin, among other things, entered an order, which was modified on August 5, 1982, pursuant to the granting of a motion for reconsideration, to read as follows: "Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2034, plaintiff and cross-defendant, Duane J. Dwyer, individually or as an officer of Motor Holidays, Ltd., is prohibited from introducing evidence at trial or by motion to support or oppose designated claims or defenses to which his refusal to answer questions or produce documents whether by invoking the Fifth Amendment privilege or otherwise relate [sic]."
Subsequently, neither Dwyer nor Isaacson appeared at the mandatory settlement conference and sanctions were imposed against Isaacson personally for failure to appear. A second mandatory settlement conference had to [194 Cal. App. 3d 1428] be set and conducted, which proved to be wasteful of time and expense in view of Dwyer's refusal to engage in meaningful settlement negotiations.
Judge Velarde granted a defense motion for directed verdicts on the complaint of Dwyer and M.H.'s-Cal. and the trial of the cross-complaints proceeded by way of jury trial. Dwyer, allegedly without the knowledge of his counsel, Isaacson, served a subpoena on the guardian ad litem for a 12-year-old son of the opposing counsel, who represented Dorothy Lee Haynes in the two related consolidated actions bgfore severance of these actions at time of trial. The purported purpose of the subpoena was to inquire into an alleged prostitution business conducted out of that attorney's office by one of his employees. Facts revealed that the employee about whom Dwyer sought evidence did not work for Haynes's attorney and was unknown to him. Judge Velarde was "troubled" by the tactic of subpoenaing a 12-year-old son of opposing counsel.
During the course of the trial, Crocker and Laun filed and served a notice of request for attorneys' fees and expense pursuant to CCP § 128.5. The motion sought reasonable expenses and attorneys' fees, on the ground that the complaint against Crocker and Laun was not filed in good faith, was frivolous and caused unnecessary expense and consumption of time. A discussion occurred in-chambers on the day of the filing of the notice, during which session Judge Velarde indicated that a hearing on the motion under CCP § 128.5 would be heard at the end of the jury trial. Judge Velarde indicated that he would examine and review the entire record in a cumulative fashion pertaining to costs, expenses and attorneys' fees. Isaacson, on behalf of himself, requested the court to conduct such a full sanctions hearing at the conclusion of the trial.
While the trial was in progress, Dwyer delivered a mailgram to the president and to each member of the board of directors of Foremost entitled "Direct Settlement Offer" which stated in part: "... It appears that the individuals intrusted to settle on your company[']s behalf are devoid of [194 Cal. App. 3d 1429] business economics and are more inclined and insistent to continue to spend your money and mine like drunken sailors. The trial is estimated to take between thirty and forty days to conclusion. [¶] Foremost pecking order is last on the agenda. I interpret this in dollars of cost to your company from $40,000.00 to $60,000.00 in addition to the staggering cost already incurred."
In support of their cross-complaint, Foremost and Crocker adduced testimony of 11 witnesses which demonstrated improper insurance claims procedures by Dwyer and "Motor Holidays" and tendered evidence to prove "double dip" claims fn. 5 on motor homes rented to witnesses Russ McClellan, Alan Roger Hughes, Hugh Bullion, and Brandon Singh. Additional evidence [194 Cal. App. 3d 1430] was adduced to prove inflated claims and false claims as a pattern of illegal conduct of the kind alleged in this lawsuit.
At the in-chambers conference and prior to the CCP § 128.5 sanctions hearing, Foremost, Crocker and Laun submitted documentary evidence setting forth $151,000 in attorneys' fees and costs incurred throughout the litigation. The attorneys incurring the fees and costs either testiffed at the hearing or were available to do so.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the court imposed sanctions as set forth below. A nunc pro tunc minute order of Judge Velarde dated March 7, 1983, provided as follows: "It Is Hereby Ordered that Duane J. Dwyer and Motor Holidays, Ltd., pay to Crocker Bank, Eleanor Laun and Foremost Insurance Company reasonable expenses of $75,258.00 and that Lon B. Isaacson pay to Crocker Bank, Eleanor Laun, and Foremost Insurance [194 Cal. App. 3d 1431] Company one-half ($37,629) of said amount. Said $37,629.00 shall not be in addition to the $75,258,00, but Duane J. Dwyer and Motor Holidays, Ltd., and Lon B. Isaacson shall be jointly and severally liable for said $37,629.00." The court had previously signed a 26-page order, dated February 25, 1983, detailing and reviewing the conduct on which sanctions were based, entitled "Order Imposing Sanctions Pursuant to Section 128.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure and Finding by the Court Justifying Said Order."
1. Propriety of Judge Sara Radin's discovery order.
Additionally, the order of Judge Radin imposing sanctions was the result of Dwyer's failure to produce documents at his deposition, including but not limited to the contents of the "Captain Lee" file. Judge Radin's order was entered following a noticed hearing during which Dwyer was found to have invoked his Fifth Amendment self-incrimination privilege to questions asked of him at his deposition pertaining to false insurance claims. Dwyer [194 Cal. App. 3d 1432] contended that his answer could expose him to criminal prosecution under selected provisions of the California Insurance Code.
[1a] In urging this court to find an abuse of discretion by Judge Radin, appellants rely heavily on the case of Pacers, Inc. v. Superior Court (1984) 162 Cal. App. 3d 686 [208 Cal. Rptr. 743], which they contend supports their argument that the trial court should have employed a less stringent course of action in imposing sanctions by staying the trial proceedings until the statute of limitations had run on the crimes to which Dwyer was exposed.
[2] The self-incrimination privilege has been extended to civil trials and administrative hearings, as well as traditionally being applied in criminal cases. (Pacers, Inc. v. Superior Court, supra, 162 Cal. App. 3d 686; Kastigar v. United States (1972) 406 U.S. 441, 444 [32 L. Ed. 2d 212, 216-217, 92 S. Ct. 1653].) However, the courts have never allowed a plaintiff to use, in the words of the trial judge in this case, Carlos E. Velarde, the self-incrimination privilege as a "shield and as a sword." The courts have prevented the plaintiff in such a situation from "blow[ing] hot and cold." (A & M Records, Inc. v. Heilman (1977) 75 Cal. App. 3d 554, 566 [142 Cal. Rptr. 390].)
[3] Also, the courts have been quick to find a waiver of the privilege when a plaintiff seeks damages on the one hand and then attempts to inconvenience or hinder or delay the defense in the prosecution of its case by the imposition of a privilege. (People v. Preyer (1985) 164 Cal. App. 3d 568, 572 [210 Cal. Rptr. 807].)
[1b] It should be noted that Judge Radin did in fact follow a less strenuous path in imposing sanctions against plaintiffs for failure to render discovery, in that CCP § 2034 authorizes the dismissal of an action or the striking of pleadings as ultimate sanctions where there has been an improper failure of a litigant to comply with the discovery act. However, Judge Radin did not follow this harsh path, but in the alternative prohibited appellants from introducing evidence at time of trial relating to Dwyer's [194 Cal. App. 3d 1433] invoking of the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and relating to his failure to produce documents.
[4] Judge Radin's course of action was also proper in refusing to enter a stay of proceedings until any threatened criminal prosecution against Dwyer would expire by reason of the running of the applicable criminal statutes of limitation. In this instance, it appears that the most likely statute of limitations pertaining to the crime, which might have supported a criminal prosecution against Dwyer, was for three years (i.e., insurance fraud per Ins. Code, § 556 and Pen. Code, § 800). Possibly the five-year statute of limitations under the United States mail fraud statute would be applicable (18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1961; United States v. Bethea (5th Cir. 1982) 672 F.2d 407; United States v. Boffa (D.Del. 1980) 513 F.Supp. 444). If such a stay had been ordered by Judge Radin, then there is a distinct probability that the period of time within which to bring the cross-action to trial would have expired. (Five years from filing under former CCP § 583, now § 583.310.)
[5] The record reveals that Judge Radin also had additional reasons and independent grounds for her discovery order under CCP § 2034. During the discovery stage of the litigation, Crocker and Foremost served "requests for admissions" on Dwyer and "Motor Holidays," to which Dwyer and "Motor Holidays" failed to respond. Pursuant to CCP § 2033, the requested admissions were deemed admitted by Dwyer and "Motor Holidays."
The "admissions," combined with other trial evidence of Dwyer's false, exaggerated and other double-dip claims, clearly establish that the judgment against Dwyer and "Motor Holidays," and the directed verdicts for Crocker, Foremost and Laun, should stand on independent grounds. [194 Cal. App. 3d 1434]
2. Propriety of Judge Carlos E. Velarde's sanctions order following trial.
[6a] Appellants next contend that Judge Velarde abused his discretion by awarding to respondents the sum of $75,258 as attorneys fees and costs in the action. [7] The award by Judge Velarde was pursuant to CCP § 128.5 which was enacted by the Legislature for the purpose of preventing frivolous litigation. (See fn. 4, ante.) CCP § 128.5 supplements already existing authority of the trial court to exercise supervisory powers to prevent ill-conceived litigation and tactics. Quoting from Mungo v. UTA French Airlines (1985) 166 Cal. App. 3d 327, 333 [212 Cal.Rptr. 369]: "'A trial court is empowered to exercise its supervisory power in such a manner as to provide for the orderly conduct of the court's business and to "guard against inept procedures and unnecessary indulgences which would tend to hinder, hamper or delay the conduct and dispatch of its proceedings."'"
[6b] We cannot say that Judge Velarde abused the broad discretion accorded him by the Legislature by imposing the sanctions mentioned, ante, in view of the findings of the trial judge summarized by this court as follows:
(6) Failure of Dwyer to timely pay other court-imposed monetary sanctions when, in fact, he was found to have had the ability to do so at the time Judge Radin ordered sanctions of $1,260; [194 Cal. App. 3d 1435]
We cannot say that Judge Velarde abused his discretion in imposing the sanctions as indicated, ante, pursuant to CCP § 128.5.
3. Alleged insufficiency of the notice of hearing pursuant to CCP § 128.5.
[8] Appellants next contend that they were not given adequate notice and full opportunity to be heard at the CCP § 128.5 sanctions hearing since the grounds and the amount of the sanctions requested were not set forth with specificity.
CCP § 128.5 does set forth the amount of specificity required for imposition of sanction. [194 Cal. App. 3d 1436]
In Lesser v. Huntington Harbor Corp. (1985) 173 Cal. App. 3d 922, 932 [219 Cal. Rptr. 562], while examining prior cases dealing with notice requirements under CCP § 128.5, the court indicated that the adequacy of the notice thereunder should be determined on a case by case basis to satisfy basic due process requirements.
Judge Velarde, in his comments on October 20, 1982, made the following observations: "The issue of sanctions and attorneys' fees, I'm going to take that under submission and I will take it up at the appropriate time. [¶] ... [¶] Let me just say that I'll do the same as to any other motions that call for sanctions and attorney fees. [¶] ... [¶] I'm not overlooking it. We just simply have a lot of other matters and I take it we'll have some time between now and the conclusion of the trial, if not immediately following the conclusion of trial, to take up any motions for payment of attorneys' fees, sanctions, and so forth."
Thereafter, the subject of sanctions was discussed many times during the course of the trial when sanctionable events occurred. Even appellant, Isaacson, requested the court to carry out the procedure that had already been indicated by the court and conduct a full sanctions hearing at the conclusion of trial rather than as each event occurred. Isaacson stated: "So I would like the court to just hold in abeyance all sanction, rulings -- you have already done that -- with regard to these motions until the end of the trial and make such rulings as you determined."
Further notice was provided to appellants, when, on December 14, 1982, Foremost, Crocker and Laun filed and served a "Declaration of Russell B. Hicks in support of attorney's fees pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure section 128.5," which detailed a request for $151,000 in fees and costs. [194 Cal. App. 3d 1437]
[6c] Likewise, the amount of attorney's fees and expenses to be awarded was in the sound discretion of the trial court and this court finds no abuse of discretion in awarding sanctions of $75,258 apportioned in the manner heretofore described.
This court further finds no merit in appellants' contention that an award pursuant to CCP § 128.5 would be improper for conduct occurring prior to January 1, 1982, the enactment date of CCP § 128.5. On the date that sanctions were imposed by Judge Velarde, CCP § 128.5 had been in full force and effect for approximately one year. Additionally, Judge Velarde awarded sanctions in an amount which was one-half the amount requested by respondents according to their proof. It is highly probable that this reduction of the requested award by one-half more than compensated for any alleged conduct occurring prior to enactment of CCP § 128.5.
Even more unsound is appellants' second theory that Foremost and Crocker could not recover sanctions for any period of time prior to the filing of the complaint in the municipal court. However, Crocker and Laun (and Foremost) eventually became embroiled in the litigation directly as a result of bad faith tactics by Dwyer in his litigation with "Haynes" and others during which the unsoundness of Dwyer's claim against Crocker and Laun first came to light. The statute is clear that costs and fees can be awarded to parties in the position of Crocker and Laun by reason of bad faith conduct, including the bad faith filing of a complaint. Even though Foremost and Crocker were not parties to the action with "Haynes" and others involving control of "Motor Holidays," they undeniably became [194 Cal. App. 3d 1438] parties to the present action by reason of the bad faith actions of the appellants, the related actions thereby entitling them to fees unnecessarily incurred relating to the present litigation.
[9] Isaacson argues that any conduct on his part warranting sanctions is difficult to determine and to attribute to him, or as Isaacson expresses it, as "falling at the feet of" Isaacson. However, there are many clear examples of bad faith conduct that can be directly traced to Isaacson. Isaacson did use incessant leading questions at time of trial in the face of Judge Velarde's admonishment. He was late on several occasions and failed to appear at the mandatory settlement conference. Isaacson was aware of Dwyer's improper trial conduct and implicitly condoned the conduct by failing to prevent Dwyer's use of inflammatory testimony and to prevent vulgar and racist language by witnesses as admonished by Judge Velarde. Isaacson also had knowledge of the sending of the mailgram by Dwyer, which bordered on extortion. Isaacson also participated in the filing of a complaint that itself had no meritorious basis in law or fact. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in ordering that sanctions be paid by Attorney Isaacson in the amount of $37,629.
The burden is on Isaacson to establish the abuse of the trial court's discretion and he has plainly failed to carry his burden of proof. (Mission Imports, Inc. v. Superior Court (1982) 31 Cal. 3d 921 [184 Cal. Rptr. 296, 647 P.2d 1075].)
[10] The appellants next contend that the superior court made computational errors pertaining to its calculation of the amount of sanctions for attorneys' fees. It should be noted that in the matter of an award of attorneys fees under CCP § 128.5, the court is not bound in its determination by such traditional factors as hours consumed, statements mailed, results attained, and the like. Such an award for attorneys fees is not the subject of a "strict accounting" as might be required in other areas of the law such as in the administration of trusts and estates. Although the court might be aided by such evidence, the court is an "expert" on the subject of attorneys fees and needs no expert testimony on the matter for it to make a determination of a reasonable attorneys fees award. (Bunn v. Lucas, Pino & Lucas (1959) 172 Cal. App. 2d 450, 468 [342 P.2d 508].) This is particularly so when the trial judge is the one who makes the award based upon proceedings before him and from facts which are extant in the court files. That is not to say that an expert in this field is necessarily precluded, however. This point on appeal is without merit. We find no abuse of discretion on the part of the trial court in awarding sanctions of $75,258 under CCP § 128.5.
This court has read and considered the issues raised by respondents on this appeal as to appellants' "unclean hands" and by reason of the opinion [194 Cal. App. 3d 1439] set forth herein on legal grounds, we find it unnecessary to address ourselves to the equitable doctrine of unclean hands.
4. Respondents' request for sanctions for an alleged frivolous appeal.
[11a] We come now to the final matter to be determined on this appeal, namely, respondents' request for sanctions for an alleged frivolous appeal by appellants pursuant to CCP § 907.
We look to the 1982 opinion of the California Supreme Court (In re Marriage of Flaherty (1982) 31 Cal. 3d 637 [183 Cal. Rptr. 508, 646 P.2d 179]) for our standard in considering respondents' request.
[12] In Flaherty, appellate courts are admonished that "an appeal should be held to be frivolous only when it is prosecuted for an improper motive -- to harass the respondent or delay the effect of an adverse judgment -- or when it indisputably has no merit -- when any reasonable attorney would agree that the appeal is totally and completely without merit. [Citation.] [¶] However, any definition must be read so as to avoid a serious chilling effect on the assertion of litigants' rights on appeal. Counsel and their clients have a right to present issues that are arguably correct, even if it is extremely unlikely that they will win on appeal. An appeal that is simply without merit is not by definition frivolous and should not incur sanctions. Counsel should not be deterred from filing such appeals out of a fear of reprisals. Justice Kaus stated it well. In reviewing the dangers inherent in any attempt to define frivolous appeals, he said the courts cannot be 'blind to the obvious: the borderline between a frivolous appeal and one which simply has no merit is vague indeed .... The difficulty of drawing the line simply points up an essential corollary to the power to dismiss frivolous appeals: that in all but the clearest cases it should not be used.' [Citation.] The same may be said about the power to punish attorneys for prosecuting frivolous appeals: the punishment should be used most sparingly to deter only the most egregious conduct." (Id., at pp. 650-651, italics in original.)
[11b] Viewed under the standard of Marriage of Flaherty, this court is hardpressed to find that the appeal in this instance was anything but a calculated effort to "harass the respondent or delay the effect of an adverse judgment." We further find that it is indisputable that this appeal "has no merit" and "any reasonable attorney would agree that the appeal is totally and completely without merit." [194 Cal. App. 3d 1440]
We, however, find that sanctions are more appropriately imposed in this case under rule 26 of the California Rules of Court which provides in part: "Where the appeal is frivolous or taken solely for the purpose of delay ... the reviewing court may impose upon offending attorneys or parties such penalties, including the withholding or imposing of costs, as the circumstances of the case and the discouragement of like conduct in the future may require."
FN 1. All future references to the Code of Civil Procedure will be designated CCP §.
FN 2. In the interest of brevity, Dwyer will hereafter refer to plaintiff/cross-defendant/ appellant, Duane J. Dwyer; M.H.'s-Cal. will hereafter refer to plaintiff/cross-defendant/appellant, Motor Holidays, Ltd., a California corporation; M.H.'s-Del. will hereafter refer to cross-defendant/appellant, Motor Holidays, Ltd., a Delaware corporation; Isaacson will hereafter refer to appellant, Attorney Lon B. Isaacson; Crocker will hereafter refer to defendant/cross-complainant/respondent, Crocker National Bank, a national banking corporation; Laun will hereafter refer to defendant/respondent, Eleanor Laun; and Foremost will hereafter refer to cross-complainant/respondent, Foremost Insurance Company, a corporation.
FN 3. On May 26, 1982, three cases were consolidated for trial pursuant to stipulation under case No. C352416. The other two cases were numbered C352885 and NWC 85795. Cases numbered C352416 and C352885 involved one Dorothy Lee Haynes and others in a contest against Dwyer for control of "Motor Holidays." Case No. NWC 85795 involved the parties of this litigation and this appeal. Judge Velarde granted a severance motion at trial and this case was tried under case No. NWC 85795.
FN 4. CCP § 128.5 provides as follows: "(a) Every trial court may order a party, the party's attorney, or both to pay any reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, incurred by another party as a result of bad-faith actions or tactics that are frivolous or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay. This section also applies to judicial arbitration proceedings under Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 1141.10) of Title 3 of Part 3.
"(2) 'Frivolous' means (A) totally and completely without merit or (B) for the sole purpose of harassing an opposing party.
FN 5. In the insurance industry, multiple payments for a single incident are known as "double dips."