Court of Appeal Affirms Attorney Fee Award in Elder Abuse Case – 2020 Arace v. Medico Investments

In this 2020 case, the Court of Appeal in California affirmed an award of elder abuse attorney fees as remedies without any physical injury, where the jury found that Medico was liable for the misappropriation of Miller’s property, that its conduct was “a substantial factor in causing harm” to Miller, and that plaintiff proved “by clear and convincing evidence that Medico” acted with “recklessness, malice, oppression or fraud.” Under the plain language of the statute, an award of attorney fees is a mandatory form of relief regardless of whether the plaintiff is awarded any other form of relief.

Read the entire opinion here: Arace v. Medico Investments

California Welfare and Institutions Code 15657.5, subdivision (a), states that “[w]here it is proven by a preponderance of the evidence that a defendant is liable for financial abuse, as defined in Section 15610.30, in addition to compensatory damages and all other remedies otherwise provided by law, the court shall award to the plaintiff reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.” (§ 15657.5, subd. (a), italics added.

The Court found that Medico Investments must pay attorneys’s fees in this Elder Abuse case.

Call Mina Sirkin, Attorney at Law for all California Elder Abuse matters at 818.340.4479 or email us: Info@SirkinLaw.com.