Timing Was Critical To Preserving The Right To Collect Attorney Fees.

Plaintiff home buyers of a residence in Santa Cruz County, claiming material nondisclosures by Defendants, offered to mediate the dispute before filing their complaint. Defendant home sellers, the Meyers, rejected the offer to mediate, but reversed their decision and accepted the offer two days before the complaint was filed by the Evleshins.

In California, the standard residential purchase and sale agreement requires mediation before filing a lawsuit, with the consequence that one who rejects mediation forfeits the right to collect attorney fees.

You guessed it. The defendants, who rejected the offer to mediate and then reversed course, won the lawsuit. Are they still able to collect attorneys fees?

Yes, says the California Court of Appeal, Evleshin v. Meyer, 115 Cal.App.5th 1021 (6th Dist. 2025). The Defendants accepted the offer to mediate two days before the complaint was filed.

Comment: Timing is everything here. The offer to mediate was ultimately accepted before the complaint was filed.