Attorney Joe Abramson of Woodland Hills, CA; greedy loser

The state of California presented Joe R. Abramson with a law license in 1982 after he graduated from Loyola University School of Law in Los Angeles.  

In one matter, Joey filed an appeal after Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Elaine W. Mandel shaved (reduced) his claim for fees of 287,640 to $90,000 in an action against an unlicensed contractor. Judge Mandel’s well-reasoned reduction involved Joey’s incivility and his over-litigation of the case, which was attributable to his personal embroilment.

In reducing Joey’s fee demand to $90,000, Judge Mandel said Joey’s filings “was replete with attacks on defense counsel as that defense counsel filed ‘knowingly false claims of witness tampering,’ ‘her comments were frivolous,’ something was ‘typical of the improper tactics employed by defendants and their counsel’.” She went on to say:

• “It was really offensive to me, the attacks made in this case.”
• “In support of his motion, more than 300 pages of documentation was provided.”
• “I have a lot of extraneous documentation, a lot of paper that I did not need and did not want in ruling on this motion.”

In upholding Judge Mandel’s reduction of Joey’s fee claim to $90,000, the Court of Appeal made the following statements.

• “Trial judges deciding motions for attorney fees properly may consider whether the attorney seeking the fee has become personally embroiled and has, therefore, over-litigated the case.”
• “Similarly, judges permissibly may consider whether an attorney’s incivility in litigation has affected the litigation costs.”

Kudos to Judge Mandel for having the courage and fortitude to call out the outrageous conduct of Joey and in reducing his fee claim by $197,000 as a de facto sanction for said conduct.

As we speak (ca. July 2021), Joey continues to practice his so-called brand of law with the Law Offices of Joe R. Abramson at 20969 Ventura Blvd in Woodland Hills, California.