Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5)

Private Attorney General: $69,718 In § 1021.5 Attorney Fees Awarded To Attorney General Xavier Becerra After Defeating Petition To Have His Name Removed From The November 2018 Election Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5)

Becerra’s Successful Defense Resulted In A Published Decision Enforcing An Important Public Right And Conferring A Significant Benefit On The General Public, And Becerra’s Personal Financial Burden Incurred In Defeating The Petition Outweighed Any Pecuniary Benefit Becerra Might Have Received If He Won The Election.             Plaintiff Eric P. Early (and his election committee) filed […]

Allocation, Private Attorney General: Trial Court’s Application Of The Wrong Standard And Inappropriate Basis For Denying Prevailing Plaintiff’s Postappeal Section 1021.5 Motion For Fees Necessitated Remand

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5)

Trial Court Focused On The “Punishment” The Fees Award Would Impose On Defendant For Unsuccessful Appeal Of Judgment Rather Than Examining Determination Factors For Award Under § 1021.5 And Also Erred In Denying Based On Plaintiff’s Failure To Apportion Fees Between His Private Interests And The Public Interest.             In Doe v. Westmont College,

Costs, Private Attorney General, Reasonableness Of Fees: Petitioners, In Long-Standing San Francisco Bicycle Plan CEQA Challenges, Who Achieved Limited Success, Had Costs Properly Stricken And Recovered 50% Less Than Requested Once The Lodestar Was Reduc

Cases: Costs, Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5), Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

Bottom Line In This Case, Limited Success Will Impact Cost and Fee Recovery, Even In Public Interest Cases.             We have seen that costs and attorney’s fees in many public interest cases, including those under the private attorney general statute, can be quite large.  However, one should keep in mind that the cost and fee

Private Attorney General: Intervenor In Reverse-PRA Action, Where Only Limited Disclosure Of Publicly Available Documents Was Ordered, Did Not Satisfy Separate Significant Benefit Prong Of CCP § 1021.5

Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5)

Public Interest And Significant Benefit Prongs Of Private Attorney General Statute Must Be Satisfied Independently.             In Burgess v. Coronado Unified School Dist., Case No. D076263 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Dec. 24, 2020) (published), a reverse action under the California Public Records Act (PRA) was filed by a news outlet employee to enjoin District from

Private Attorney General: Denial Of Attorney Fees To Plaintiff Who Successfully Challenged University’s Sexual Harassment Determination Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5)

The Litigation Did Not Confer A Significant Benefit On A Large Class Of Persons And The Lack Of Substantial Evidence Necessary To Support University’s Administrative Decision Did Not Constitute Evidence Of Arbitrary And Capricious Conduct.             In Doe v. Regents of the University of California, Case No. A158704 (1st Dist., Div. 4 November 30, 2020)

Private Attorney General: Trial Court’s Dismissal Of Validation Action Based On Lack Of Subject Matter Jurisdiction Did Not Entitle Victor To Private Attorney General Fees

Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5)

Losing City Was Free to Go Forward With The Sale, So The Victory Was Pyrrhic.              In City of Upland v. The Inland Oversight Committee, Case No. E073768 (4th Dist., Div. 2 Oct. 13, 2020) (unpublished), City sought through a validation action to validate its agreement to sell part of Memorial Park to San Antonio

Private Attorney General, Special Fee Shifting Statutes: Unilateral Fee-Shifting Clause In DFEH’s Favor Preempted An Award Of Private Attorney General Fees To Prevailing Defendants

Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5), Cases: Special Fee Shifting Statutes

Specific Statute Prevailed Over More General One As Far As Fee Entitlement.             When two fee-shifting statutes collide, they sometimes can be reconciled but sometimes cannot—the latter was the conclusion in Dept. of Fair Employment & Housing v. Cathy’s Creations, Inc., Case No. F077802 (5th Dist. Sept. 9, 2020) (published).             There, defendants prevailed in

Private Attorney General: Unincorporated Association In Election Contest Challenge Was A De Facto Intervenor With Standing To Seek Section 1021.5 Fees As A Successful Party

Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5)

Fifth District Enunciates Test For Unincorporated Associations.             In Vosburg v. County of Fresno, Case No. F078081 (5th Dist. Sept. 9, 2020) (partially published; fees standing issue published), an unincorporated association representing mental patients in a representative capacity sought to recover $44,218.13 in attorney’s fees under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021, California’s private attorney

Private Attorney General: Award Of $387,593 In Attorney Fees And $15,771 In Costs To Plaintiffs Who Dismissed Their Lawsuit Was Proper And Consistent With California Policy Under Catalyst Theory

Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5)

Plaintiffs Filed A Class-Action Lawsuit After Making Several Pre-Litigation Attempts At Settlement, And Dismissed The Case After Achieving Their Main Litigation Objective.             Skinner v. Ken’s Foods, Inc., Case No. B299907 (2d. Dist., Div. 6 August 21, 2020) (published) has a nice discussion on the requirements for a Code Civ. Proc. section 1021.5 fee

Private Attorney General: No Abuse Of Discretion Where Trial Court Denied A $613,525 Code Of Civil Procedure § 1021.5 Fees Request By Plaintiff Achieving Limited Success

Cases: Private Attorney General (CCP 1021.5)

Plaintiff’s Action Did Not Result In A Significant Benefit To The General Public.             Code Civ. Proc. section 1021.5 does not guarantee fee entitlement to a successful party in an action resulting in the enforcement of an important right affecting public interest.  Rather, section 1021.5 includes a three-prong prerequisite for an attorney fee award:

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