His Failure to Present a Claim to the County Barred Fees Request.
In our May 3, 2009 post, we discussed former Kern County Sheriff Carl Sparks’ battle in a lawsuit brought by Kern County to obtain an award of attorney’s fees under several theories, but mainly Government Code section 996.4 (a statute requiring a public entity to reimburse fees and costs to an employee/former employee retaining counsel following the public entity’s refusal to provide a defense in a civil action/proceeding brought against that employee on account of an act/omission in the scope of employment).
Sparks v. Kern County Bd. of Supervisors, Case No. F057600 (5th Dist. Jan. 6, 2010) (unpublished) might be the final intermediate appellate word on the subject. The lower court denied Mr. Sparks’ request for an award of attorney’s fees under section 996.4, after he had failed to appeal prior denial orders requesting fees under different theories (with these failures to appeal constituting a waiver). Because the Fifth District had earlier determined that Mr. Sparks’ claim for reimbursement was barred by his failure to comply with the governmental claims presentation requirement, that earlier ruling was also dispositive of his appeal of the latest fee denial order.