SAN FRANCISCO — Duane Morris won some vindication today at the First District Court of Appeal.

Two years ago, San Mateo County Judge Carol Mittlesteadt had erased a $1 million jury award the firm had won for a client in a suit against the City of San Francisco. Middlestaedt had taken the additional step of awarding $3.4 million in fees and costs to the city. And because Duane Morris had assumed some of its clients’ claims, the judge’s order potentially placed the firm on the hook.