Jerry J. Joseph C.L.U. Insurance

SUBSTITUTE OPINION This case arises from a dispute between owners of adjoining properties. The substance of the dispute has been resolved by
a settlement in which the defendants essentially agreed to all of the substantive relief sought in the plaintiff's complaint.
By subsequent order, however, the magistrate denied the plaintiff's request for attorney fees, holding that the defendants
had prevailed in part because the settlement also provided for removal of a lis pendens on the defendants' property. The issue
before us is whether a party who loses on all substantive issues in a case can be said to prevail, even in part, because a
lis pendens has been quashed. Our answer, in the circumstances of this case, is "no."