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| Canandaigua Wine Company Tax Dispute - Attorneys' Fees |
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Constellation Brands
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| Winston & Strawn recently scored an appellate victory for Canandaigua Wine Company, Inc. in a challenge brought by the County of Madera regarding the lower court’s award of attorneys’ fees in a property tax dispute. The original case was filed as a result of an administrative decision rendered by the Madera County Assessment Appeals Board. Canandaigua successfully argued to the Superior Court that, among other things, the Board’s decision was not only based on improper legal grounds, but the decision itself was arbitrary and capricious because it did not conform to the minimum standards prescribed by law. The trial court agreed, and awarded Canandaigua the fees it incurred litigating that issue. On appeal, the County of Madera argued that the trial court erred in awarding the attorneys’ fees because Canandaigua did not prevail on all of the legal arguments presented in its complaint. According to the County, the fee award was improper because the trial court never made a specific finding that Canandaigua was the prevailing party in the action as a whole. The Court of Appeal, however, rejected the County’s arguments and noted that the trial court is required to determine the prevailing party status based on an evaluation of whether the party prevailed on a practical level – not based on whether the party prevailed on each and every cause of action. Additionally, because Canandaigua was successful in vacating the Appeals Board’s decision – the most important issue in the case – the trial court did not abuse its discretion by treating Canandaigua as the prevailing party and ordering the County to pay Canandaigua’s fees. Furthermore, the Court of Appeal granted Canandaigua’s request that the County also be required to pay the additional fees Canandaigua incurred to oppose the County’s appeal. |
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