Wright

BACKGROUND

Philip and Iuliia married in February 2019 and separated 18 days later. They had no children, no community property, and the court did not order spousal support.

1. Earlier sanctions order Although not at issue in this appeal, we briefly summarize the proceedings concerning an earlier sanctions order against Volkov.

Because the parties share a last name, we refer to them by their first names. No disrespect is intended.

2 On March 3, 2022, the same court awarded Philip prevailing party fees under Family Code section 6344. On April 18, 2022, Iuliia appealed from the fees award. On August 31, 2022, while her appeal was pending, Iuliia filed a request to vacate or set aside the March 3 fees award. On October 21, 2022, Philip moved for sanctions against Volkov under Code of Civil Procedure section 128.7. Philip argued Iuliia’s August 31, 2022 request to set aside the fees award was untimely, without merit, and the family law court had no jurisdiction to grant the request because of the pending appeal. Philip contended Iuliia’s request was filed for the improper purposes of harassing Philip and Philip’s counsel, increasing litigation costs, and obtaining more…