Lower Court Did Not Err in Refusing to Award Costs, Says Fourth District, Division 3.
In Helmy v. Assaf, Case No. G041883 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Feb. 4, 2010) (unpublished), plaintiffs achieved limited success in a declaratory relief action over the membership and control of the board of directors of a nonprofit named the Orange County Islamic Foundation. No monetary relief was awarded, and the lower court refused to award routine costs to the plaintiffs. Plaintiffs appealed, but did not obtain a reversal.
The Fourth District, Division 3, in a 3-0 decision authored by Acting Presiding Justice Rylaarsdam, found that Code of Civil Procedure section 1032(a)(4) was dispositive, which provides that the lower court has discretion to determine the prevailing party where other than monetary relief is recovered. Because plaintiff only obtained limited success in its declaratory relief action, the lower court acted in its discretion in denying an award of costs under section 1032(a)(4). (Chinn v. KMR Property Management, 166 Cal.App.4th 175, 188 (2008).)