Grant

Introduction

Judgment below was entered following a 73-day court trial of multiple consolidated, related cross-actions. Litigation arose from an aborted buy/sell agreement negotiated between appellants Allen R. Grant (Grant), Carolyn M. Grant and Grant Construction Company, Inc. (the buyers) and respondent James C. Brooks (the seller) for the purchase of Best Chevrolet, Inc. doing business as Eagle Chevrolet, a Modesto, California automobile dealership.

The judgment was adverse to the buyers on all major legal and equitable issues, except that the court allowed a downward adjustment of the purchase price. In the published portion of this opinion we hold that the timely notice of appeal from the judgment subsumed a subsequent order fixing the amount of attorneys fees awarded in the judgment. In the unpublished portions we reject all of appellants’ attacks on the judgment. We affirm with directions to determine the respondents’ reasonable attorneys fees on appeal.

Statement of Case - Discussion I.-VH.

VIII. Attorney Fees

A. Failure to Appeal Postjudgment Order Fixing Amount of Fee Award

Judgment in favor of respondents was entered on August 26, 1988, after a…