Davenport

Appellant Jill L. Davenport and respondent Ken L. Davenport were married in 1948, a marriage that would produce three daughters and a vast estate. Jill 1 and Ken separated in 1990, and in 2006 Jill filed a petition for dissolution. The petition was filed by a long-established Sonoma County law firm, signed by an experienced lawyer there. Early on, a young and inexperienced attorney at that firm became Jill’s primary attorney, and interacted with Ken’s attorneys for the next two years, interactions that would generate a 35-page register of actions and 19 volumes of court files.

In May 2008 Jill filed a motion under Family Code section 271 2 seeking $600,861 in attorney fees and $332,933 in costs. Ken responded with a section 271 request of his own, and the cross-motions were heard over a five-day period by the Honorable Cereña Wong, an experienced family law judge who had been handling the matter for well over a year. Following extensive post hearing submissions, Judge Wong issued a 31-page decision that denied Jill’s request and granted Ken’s, awarding him $100,000 in sanctions and $304,387 in attorney fees.

Jill appeals, asserting procedural and substantive arguments,…