Hammett v. Stern

── Hammett v. Stern ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Date: May 27, 2026 Category: General NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MAY 27 2026 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT LAURA LYNN HAMMETT, Nos. 24-3621, 24-5961 Plaintiff - Appellant, D.C. No. 3:19-cv-00605-LL-AHG v. ELLIS ROY STERN, Esq., an individual; MEMORANDUM* ALAN N. GOLDBERG, Esq., an individual; STERN & GOLDBERG, a California Partnership, Defendants - Appellees, and MARY E. SHERMAN, et. al., Defendants. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California Linda Lopez, District Judge, Presiding Submitted May 19, 2026** * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). Before: RAWLINSON, H.A. THOMAS, and MENDOZA, Circuit Judges. Laura Lynn Hammett (Hammett) appeals the district court’s order granting the renewed motion for attorneys’ fees filed by Ellis Roy Stern, Alan N. Goldberg, and their law firm, Stern & Goldberg under California’s anti-strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) law. Hammett also appeals the district court’s order denying her motion for a stay pending appeal. We review a district court’s decision to grant an anti-SLAPP motion de novo and its award of attorneys’ fees for abuse of discretion. See Manufactured Home Communities, Inc. v. Cnty. of San Diego, 655 F.3d 1171, 1176 (9th Cir. 2011). We also review for abuse of discretion the decision to deny a stay. See Duke v. Gastelo, 64 F.4th 1088, 1093 (9th Cir. 2023). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we affirm. 1. The district court did not abuse its discretion by granting the renewed motion for attorneys’ fees. Under California’s anti-SLAPP provision, “a prevailing defendant on a special motion to strike shall be entitled to recover that defendant’s attorney’s fees and costs.” Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 425.16(c)(1); see also Ketchum v. Moses, 17 P.3d 735, 741 (Cal. 2001). We upheld the district court’s initial fee award in a separately filed memorandum disposition. See Hammett v. Sherman, No. 22-56003, 2026 WL 1365271, at *2 (9th Cir. May 15, 2026). A prevailing party is entitled to “compensation for all hours reasonably 2 24-3621 spent, including those necessary to establish and defend the fee claim.” Serrano v. Unruh, 652 P.2d 985, 997 (Cal. 1982) (in bank); see also Ketchum, 17 P.3d at 742 (applying Serrano to anti-SLAPP motions). Here, the district court applied the lodestar method, and determined that the additional hours spent defeating Hammett’s interlocutory appeal and motions challenging the initial fee award were reasonable. Hammett does not challenge the calculation of the amount of fees. Rather, Hammett maintains that no fees should have been awarded, and that the award is unconstitutionally oppressive under Wakefield v. ViSalus, Inc., 51 F.4th 1109 (9th Cir. 2022).1 Wakefield held that an award of nearly one billion dollars in aggregate statutory damages for sending robocalls was possibly “wholly disproportioned” and “obviously unreasonable” in relation to the statute’s “compensatory or deterrence goals.” See id. at 1120, 1122-23. Unlike in Wakefield, here the district court ensured through its lodestar analysis that the fee award was reasonable