Monster, LLC v. Superior Court of L. A. Cnty.

*1218 Petitioners Monster LLC and its founder, Noel Lee, filed a tort action alleging Beats Electronics had engaged in a fraudulent scheme to deprive them of their interest in the company. In its answer, Beats asserted all of the petitioners' claims were barred by release provisions set forth in the parties' prior written agreements. Beats also filed a cross-complaint alleging that: (1) petitioners had breached the terms of those written agreements by filing their complaint; and (2) petitioners' acts had damaged Beats by causing the company to incur attorney's fees and other litigation costs.

Beats filed a motion for summary judgment seeking dismissal of petitioners' claims based on the contractual release provisions. The court granted the motion, and set a trial on Beats's cross-claims for breach of contract. At a subsequent case management conference, Beats argued that Civil Code section 1717 required the court, rather than a jury, to determine the amount of attorney's fees it was entitled to recover as damages on its cross-claims. Petitioners, however, asserted that because Beats was seeking its attorney's fees as a form of contract damages, they were entitled to a jury trial…