Atty. Castañeda concluded a three-week trial and successfully argued for her client, among other things, attorney fees and sanctions. Due to the international aspects of the divorce (i.e. business transactions in the Middle East, Asia and California), tracing financial information was a challenge.
Atty. Castañeda strategically and comprehensively proved to the Court that the litigation conduct of the other party prolonged and delayed resolution. Moreover, the bad faith conduct of the other party necessitated extensive and expensive forensic experts fees and costs for her client.
The Court unequivocally found that Atty. Castañeda and her client acted in good faith in proposing multiple global settlement offers that would have prevented several court hearings and the trial itself.
The Court specifically cited the case of Feldman and underscored inherent and broad authority of the trial court to order sanctions and the payment of attorney fees for breach of a party’s fiduciary duty of disclosure and for conduct that frustrates the policy of promoting settlement.
Asked how she felt about the current “win,” Atty. Castañeda simply states, “I am exhausted and now I need to focus on my other cases and prepare for another trial –this one involving child custody. Asked how she will celebrate, “I will go for a walk with my dogs and go to a yoga class.”
