Agk Sierra De Montserrat, L.P. v. Comerica Bank

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

AGK SIERRA DE MONTSERRAT, No. 23-15290

L.P.,

D.C. No. 2:15-cv- Plaintiff-Appellee, 01280-DAD-DB

v.

OPINION

COMERICA BANK,

Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California Dale A. Drozd, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted February 13, 2024 San Francisco, California

Filed July 19, 2024

Before: Eric D. Miller, Bridget S. Bade, and Lawrence VanDyke, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge VanDyke; Concurrence by Judge Miller AGK SIERRA DE MONTSERRAT, L.P. V. COMERICA BANK

SUMMARY *

California Law / Attorneys’ Fees

The panel reversed the district court’s award of attorney fees associated with litigating a first-party breach of contract suit enforcing an indemnity provision, and remanded. The district court determined that Comerica Bank breached its agreement to indemnify AGK Sierra De Montserrat, L.P. (AGK) in two underlying lawsuits and awarded attorney fees incurred in those underlying actions. In addition, relying on DeWitt v. Western Pacific Railroad Co., 719 F.2d 1448 (9th Cir. 1983), the district court…