Implied Findings On CCP § 1021.5 Elements Will Suffice Legally.
The school district in San Jose Unified School Dist. v. Rocketship Education, Case No. H045884 (6th Dist. Aug. 16, 2021) (unpublished) successfully challenged a charter school zoning exemption, in a lower court ruling affirmed in an earlier published appellate decision. The District then obtained a $115,000 attorney’s fees award under CCP § 1021.5, California’s private attorney general statute. That award was affirmed on appeal. Even though there was no express finding of a public interest, the trial judge made an implied finding, which was sufficient. On the significant benefit element, that also was satisfied because the charter school element is a charged issue, and the Legislature must be approached to make inroads into giving increased public school facility access to charter schools. Finally, on the financial interest, there was one, but the benefit to the District was speculative as far as financial savings given that charter schools were allowed to operate, but only not allowed to operate in particular locations.