Private Attorney General: Marijuana Dispensary, Winning At Pleading Stage, Did Not Win Ultimate Litigation Objective To Prevent City From Closing Dispensary

Dispensary Was Not Successful Under CCP § 1021.5, Ultimately.

     In Qualified Patients Assn. v. City of Anaheim, Case No. G046875 (4th Dist., Div. 3 July 29, 2013) (unpublished), a former medical marijuana dispensary lost an attempt to recoup attorney’s fees under the private atttorney general statute. Although dispensary won at the pleading stage, it was not successful in preventing Anaheim from closing its medical marijuana dispensary.

     Dispensary appealed the fee denial, but did no better at the higher court stage.

     Although a pleading demurrer was reversed on appeal in an earlier case, this hardly meant that dispensary was “successful” under the private attorney general statute. It was not. Ultimately, the interim pleading success did not mean success for final purposes under section 1021.5; after all, dispensary failed to prevent the city from closing it down, meaning there was no abuse of discretion with respect to the fee denial.

     This decision was authored by a 3-0 panel by Justice Aronson.