Bronshteyn v. Department of Consumer Affairs, 2025 WL 2658416 (Cal. Ct. App. 2025)

Diana Bronshteyn, who was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, sued her employer (the Department of Consumer Affairs) for disability discrimination, failure to accommodate her disability and related claims. According to the Court of Appeal, “the Department fought the case hard from the start.” Among other things, the Department unsuccessfully opposed Bronshteyn’s motion for leave to amend; demurred to the complaint; moved for summary adjudication; filed and opposed multiple motions to compel discovery responses; rejected an offer to compromise in the amount of $600,000, and, ultimately, lost the case when the jury awarded Bronshteyn more than $3.3 million (more than five times greater than Bronshteyn’s pre-trial offer to compromise). In response to its prevailing-party attorney’s fee application, plaintiff’s counsel was awarded $4.9 million in attorney’s fees, which included a 1.75 multiplier for fees incurred up to and including the jury verdict and a 1.25 enhancement for hours worked after the verdict; the trial court approved fees for plaintiff’s counsel in excess of $1,000 per hour in view of rates typically charged for experienced employment lawyers practicing in Los Angeles. In an opinion authored by Justice John Shepard Wiley Jr., the Court of Appeal affirmed the award of costs and attorney’s fees to plaintiff’s counsel.