When will a court award attorney fees in excess of the lodestar amount?

Although the trial court retains broad discretion "to award attorney fees in an amount that is less than the lodestar amount" (Christian Research Institute v. Alnor (2008) 165 Cal.App.4th 1315, 1321-1322), the record in this case contains no indication that the court actually performed a lodestar calculation. Instead, the court's written ruling makes clear its determination of the fee award was based almost entirely on the amount in dispute, without any consideration as to whether opposing counsel's aggressive litigation tactics caused Ultimo to incur a higher amount of fees than he would have otherwise.

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