The Lodestar Method

" 'Under the lodestar method, attorney fees are calculated by first multiplying the number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation by a reasonable hourly rate of compensation. (See Ketchum v. Moses, supra, 24 Cal.4th at p. 1136; Serrano v. Priest (1977) 20 Cal.3d 25, 48, fn. 23 141 Cal. Rptr. 315, 569 P.2d 1303 ... ; citation.)' (Chacon v. Litke (2010) 181 Cal.App.4th 1234, 1259 105 Cal. Rptr. 3d 214; id. at p. 1260. The Court held the lodestar method appropriate for calculating the fee award and we affirmed a fee award that exceeded the actual hourly rate under the fee agreement where the fee shifting ordinance at issue provided 'the prevailing party shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and costs ... .'.) "Our Supreme Court has recognized that the lodestar is the basic fee for comparable legal services in the community and that it may be adjusted by the court based on a number of factors in order 'to fix a fee at the fair market value for the particular action. ... "The Legislature appears to have endorsed the lodestar adjustment method of calculating fees, except in certain limited situations." . When the Legislature has determined that the lodestar adjustment approach is not appropriate, it has expressly so stated.' (Ketchum v. Moses, supra, 24 Cal.4th at pp. 1134-1135; accord, Chacon v. Litke, supra, 181 Cal.App.4th at p. 1259.) ... Here, as appropriate in this type of case, counsel were compensated based on the lodestar calculated by the court, without adjustment."