Shames

*31 I.

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Michael Shames appeals from a postjudgment order regarding attorney fees. Shames filed this lawsuit against Defendant Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN) and two individual plaintiffs, alleging multiple causes of action, after UCAN terminated his employment. The case proceeded to trial, and Shames prevailed on three causes of action, including one in which he sought unpaid wages in the form of bonus payments that were due to him pursuant to an incentive program. After judgment was entered, Shames sought to recover the attorney fees that he incurred in litigating his claims. Shames relied on two statutes for his request for attorney fees, but only one of those statutes is at issue in this appeal. Specifically, Shames sought attorney fees pursuant to Labor Code section 218.5, 1 which provides in full:

The trial court denied Shames's request for attorney fees under section 218.5, concluding that he had failed to request attorney fees "upon the initiation of the action" because he did not request attorney fees in his initial complaint. The court also concluded, in the alternative, that Shames's request for attorney fees in his amended complaint…