In a personal injury case, in what circumstances will the Court consider equitable principles in awarding attorney fees to a party who has lost a judgment against them?

After the case was submitted, we requested supplemental briefing on whether in evaluating Wertheim's attorney fee requests we may consider equitable principles, given the disproportion of the fees requested and the original judgment. In response, Wertheim answered that the result achieved may not be used to evaluate proportionality, and the lodestar may not be adjusted to achieve proportionality. Our question was not about evaluating or achieving proportionality but considering equitable principles. On this question one of Wertheim's citations was helpful: [T]he amount of money involved in the litigation is an important factor in determining an award of attorneys' fees. (Niederer v. Ferreira (1987) 189 Cal.App.3d 1485, 1507.) Equity countenances against awarding attorney fees to parties who litigate unnecessarily or in expensive battles eclipsing the dispute that initially brought them into court.