California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Nunez v. Pennisi, 193 Cal.Rptr.3d 912, 241 Cal.App.4th 861 (Cal. App. 2015):
court finds that a special motion to strike is frivolous or is solely intended to cause unnecessary delay, the court shall award costs and reasonable attorney's fees to a plaintiff prevailing on the motion, pursuant to Section 128.5. ( 425.16, subd. (c)(1).) Section 128.5, subdivision (a) authorizes a trial court to 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. Subdivision (b)(2) of section 128.5 defines frivolous as totally and completely without merit or for the sole purpose of harassing an opposing party. A motion is totally and completely without merit for purposes of a finding of frivolousness under section 425.16, subdivision (c)(1) or section 128.5 only if any reasonable attorney would agree that the motion is [objectively] totally devoid of merit. (Chitsazzadeh v. Kramer & Kaslow (2011) 199 Cal.App.4th 676, 683684, 130 Cal.Rptr.3d 910 (Chitsazzadeh ).) Section 128.5, subdivision (c) requires that an order imposing attorney fees be in writing and recite in detail the conduct or circumstances justifying the order. We review a finding under section 425.16, subdivision (c)(1) that a special motion to strike was frivolous or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay for abuse of discretion. (Chitsazzadeh, supra, at p. 684, 130 Cal.Rptr.3d 910.)
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