Graciano

Plaintiff Alba Graciano appeals from an order awarding her attorney fees following her post-liability-verdict settlement with defendant Robinson Ford Sales, Inc. (Robinson), arising out of claims she made after she purchased an automobile from that dealership. Graciano sued Robinson for damages and injunctive relief alleging 10 causes of action, and proceeded to trial on causes of action for violations of Civil Code section 1632, the Automobile Sales Finance Act (ASFA, § 2981 et seq.), the Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA, § 1750 et seq.), and the unfair competition law (UCL, Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.). After the jury made findings in Graciano’s favor on those causes of action and found Robinson violated the CLRA with malice, fraud and oppression, the parties entered into a settlement and Graciano moved for recovery of approximately $235,000 in attorney fees under the CLRA and ASFA. The trial court awarded Graciano attorney fees, but reduced her request to $27,570 for, among other things, Graciano’s and Robinson’s status as “equally prevailing parties,” its determination of a reasonable hourly rate for Graciano’s counsel, and its application of a 1.3 negative…