In Canyon Crest Conservancy v. County of Los Angeles (Kuhn), ordered published March 12, 2020, the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 4 affirmed a trial court decision denying attorney fees under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5 to the plaintiff organization. The real party in interest sought to build a residence on his property. The…
In Vargas v. Howell, published February 5, 2020, a divided panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part a fee award to a plaintiff in a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 case who entered into a settlement with the defendants that allowed the plaintiff to seek his attorney fees…
In City of Los Angeles v. Metropolitan Water Dist. of So. Cal., West Basin Municipal Water Dist., and The San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC, published November 19, 2019, the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 8 affirmed in part and reversed in part a trial court decision awarding fees in a reverse-CPRA action. MWD, a cooperative water…
In Sweetwater Union High School District v. Julian Union Elementary School District, ordered published June 28, 2019, the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 1, affirmed an award of fees to the plaintiff school district under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5. The plaintiff district alleged that the defendant district authorized a defendant charter school operator…
In Guillory v. Hill, ordered published June 26, 2019, the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 3 affirmed a trial court order denying the plaintiffs in a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 case all of the fees they sought. The plaintiffs sued for alleged overdetention after a search. Plaintiffs sued multiple defendants. Eventually one was left.…
In Friends of Spring Street v. Nevada City (Poe), ordered published April 4, 2019, the Third District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court decision denying costs and an award of attorney's fees under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5 to the petitioners. The respondent city's citizens voted for a zoning initiative repealing an earlier initiative…
In Hall v. DMV, published August 15, 2018, the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 1 affirmed a trial court order denying a petitioner's motion for attorney fees under the private attorney general fee statute, Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5. The petitioner was arrested for a suspected DUI. Because he refused to provide a blood…
In Doe v. Regents of University of California, published June 6, 2018, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed denial of a motion to dismiss a suit against the Regents of the University of California and the Assistant Dean of Students at one of the UC universities. The plaintiff, a university student, was suspended for alleged…
In Pasadena Police Officers Association v. City of Pasadena (Los Angeles Times Communications, LLC, Intervenor), published April 12, 2018, the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 1 reversed in part and affirmed in part a trial court ruling on attorney fees in a reverse-PRA action (a suit challenging a public agency's decision to produce documents under…
In Morales v. Fry, published October 16, 2017, a divided panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed in part and affirmed in part a judgment after jury trial in a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 suit against two police officers. During a protest, Officer Rees put his hand on the plaintiff's shoulder to get her…