When will a court award a reasonable amount of attorney fees?

When requesting a "reasonable" amount of attorney fees, litigants usually rely on lodestar: the number of hours times a reasonable hourly rate. Courts may then adjust the lodestar, usually by applying a positive or negative multiplier. The court may consider a variety of factors when adjusting the lodestar amount such as the difficulty of the issues involved and the relative skill level of the attorneys. (Ketchum v. Moses (2001) 24 Cal.4th 1122, 1135.)

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B. Relevant Proceedings