Bill > AB78

This bill amends Section 1717.5 of the Civil Code to increase the maximum attorney's fees that can be awarded in certain contract disputes involving book accounts. Currently, when a party prevails in a contract action based on a book account (a type of financial record) that does not specify attorney's fees, the court can award fees up to a certain limit. For book accounts related to personal, family, or household purposes, the current limit is $1,200, and for other types of book accounts, the limit is $1,600. The bill raises these limits to $1,200 for personal accounts and $1,600 for other accounts, while maintaining the alternative option of awarding up to 25% of the principal obligation. This change applies to both plaintiffs recovering damages and defendants found to have no obligation. The bill maintains existing provisions that these fees are only applicable if the original agreement contains a statement about potential attorney's fees, and continues to exclude certain types of parties like insurance companies and financial institutions from these provisions.

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https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB78