Damages for vexatious proceedings; Reasonable attorney fees; Smith v Khouri; Kidder v Pobursky-Kidder

The court concluded the trial court abused its discretion in the manner in which it determined the amount of damages (including reasonable attorney fees) to award defendant-TriFound Holdings for vexatious proceedings. Thus, it vacated these damages and remanded for further proceedings. The court previously affirmed summary disposition for TriFound, granted its motion “for damages, including reasonable attorney fees, for vexatious proceedings[,]” and remanded to the trial court for a determination of the damages. The trial court awarded defendant $26,127, two-thirds of its requested fees. The court noted “the trial court did not articulate any findings on the fees customarily charged or the reasonable number of hours expected in such a case.” It found that the “trial court’s failure to analyze the reasonableness of the rates on the record has hindered appellate review of its decision. The trial court noted in its order that it had reviewed the documents defendant provided, but [it] did not explicitly, in its order or during the hearing, explain why it found the rates or hours to be reasonable. Nor did [it] explicitly address any of the other factors it should have considered when determining the award of attorney fees.” In addition, while it “adjusted the award from the amount that defendant requested by two-thirds,” the court’s order remanding “for a determination of actual damages did not hold that only two-thirds of the issues were vexatious.”