Solis

I.

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs and appellants Jerman Solis and Patricia Newton bought a vehicle from

defendant and respondent MVP Cars, Inc. As part of the sale, MVP charged plaintiffs for

a smog test and a registration fee, but did not perform the test and did not register the

vehicle. After plaintiffs sued MVP, MVP “smogged” the vehicle and registered it, which

resolved plaintiffs’ complaints. Plaintiffs dismissed the case and sought about $21,000 in

attorney’s fees and $1,045 in costs, but the trial court awarded them only $1,925 in

attorney’s fees and no costs. Plaintiffs appeal, and we reverse and remand.

II.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

After plaintiffs bought a car from MVP in November 2018, they learned it had not

passed a smog test and MVP had not obtained a “smog certificate,” as the law requires.

(See Veh. Code, § 24007, subd. (b)(2).) They also discovered MVP had not registered

the vehicle with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), as MVP represented it would

do. Plaintiffs thus could not legally drive the vehicle.

In January 2019, Solis retained attorney Kevin Faulk to represent him for a

potential lawsuit against MVP. On February 19, 2019, Faulk…