As reported by Kathleen Wilson in a November 3, 2011 post at vcstar.com, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Henry Walsh granted the Ventura County Taxpayers Association’s request for fees, awarding it $30,855 (with a slight reduction of only about $2,500) for obtaining release of the names of six-figure county pensioners from the Board of Retirement. The California Public Records Act does have a fee-shifting provision. The fee award was assessed against the Board, which was found to not have made a commitment to release documents despite appellate rulings on the issue. The County spent $35,000 defending the suit and has no insurance to cover the fee award.
BLOG UNDERVIEW–Co-contributor Mike and his former colleage Greg Regier at Jackson DeMarco Tidus & Peckenpaugh had the pleasure to try a lengthy case before Judge Walsh over a trespass/nuisance citrus flooding dispute.