In Richards v. Sequoia Insurance Co., 2011 DJDAR 6729 (2011), the California First District Court of Appeal reaffirmed the well established rule that a plaintiff who cannot show payment of legal expenses in defense of a claim cannot recover contractual damages for attorney fees against an insurance carrier.

The court did specifically note that the plaintiffs did not make a claim for Brandt attorney fees to compel the payment of insurance benefits in the case. Under the California Brandt fees doctrine, a litigant who sues an insurance carrier to compel payment of policy benefits is entitled to recover fees which can be fairly allocated to that portion of the case.