[Download] "Newell v. State Farm General Insurance Co." by In the Court of Appeal of the State of California Second Appellate District Division Seven ~ Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Newell v. State Farm General Insurance Co.
- Author : In the Court of Appeal of the State of California Second Appellate District Division Seven
- Release Date : January 26, 2004
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 81 KB
Description
Three individuals engaged in a business venture together. Two of the individuals purchased the third individuals share of the business. All three entered into a written purchase agreement and a separate written release. The release included an attorney fee provision applicable to an action brought to enforce the release. One of the two remaining owners sued the other for fraud, and the defendant asserted the release as an affirmative defense. The defendant prevailed on summary judgment and was awarded attorney fees pursuant to the attorney fee provision in the release. In the published portion of this opinion, we conclude the assertion of a contractual defense to a tort action is not an "action brought to enforce the contract" and, therefore, the prevailing party is not entitled to an attorney fee award. In the unpublished portion of the opinion, we address the remaining contentions. We reverse the attorney fee award and otherwise affirm the judgment.