Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Whoa! Don't put the cart before the horse.

If the underlying lawsuit is barred by the statute of limitation, the court should look at your cross-complaint separately and determine whether that's also barred by the statute. For instance, a plaintiff might sue based upon an oral agreement (2-year statute of limitation), while the defendant might cross-complaint based upon a written agreement (4-year statute of limitation). If the suit were filed outside the two years, but the cross-complaint is timely, the cross-complaint should survive.

Unless you were the prevailing party and the claim involved a statute or contract that permits attorney's fees, the rule is that the litigant pays his/her/its own attorney's fees, so there could be no lien.

However, you might be entitled to your permissible litigation costs, i.e. filing fees, service of process, cost of depositions, travel to and from depositions, jury fees, and some others. Please review the appropriate Code of Civil Procedure section regarding permissible costs and timelines. There is a very short period after notice of dismissal/judgment is served in which you must file your memorandum of costs, or lose out on that opportunity.