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Timestamp: 2019-10-16 07:23:37
Document Index: 39908389

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1988', '§ 1988', '§ 2', '§ 581', '§ 1021', '§ 1021', '§ 371']

Maria P. v. Riles (1987) :: :: Supreme Court of California Decisions :: California Case Law :: California Law :: US Law :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › California Case Law › Cal. 3d › Volume 43 › Maria P. v. Riles (1987)
Maria P. v. Riles (1987)
(Opinion by Broussard, J., expressing the unanimous view of the court. Lucas, C. J., Mosk, J., Panelli, J., Arguelles, J., Eagleson, J., and Kaufman, J., concurred.) [43 Cal. 3d 1282]
Plaintiffs sought attorney fees as successful litigants under the "private attorney general" doctrine codified in section 1021.5 and the federal Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. § 1988). fn. 2 The trial court found that plaintiffs were entitled to reasonable attorney fees for [43 Cal. 3d 1286] obtaining a preliminary injunction in the underlying action and awarded such fees.
El Centro School District moved to dismiss the complaint. It claimed that Maria P. had been admitted to district schools and that it had never [43 Cal. 3d 1287] reported the identities of noncitizen children without immigrant status to federal or state authorities. However, the district admitted that it would comply with state requirements if the state mandated such reporting under Education Code section 6957. Concurrently, the superintendent demurred, claiming that plaintiffs failed to allege the existence of any state policy excluding noncitizen children without immigrant status from public schools or reporting them to immigration officials. The trial court denied the defendants' motions.
The superintendent subsequently issued a memorandum to inform all state school districts about the preliminary injunction. However, he advised the districts to determine for themselves if the court's decision affected their "obligation to follow section 6957 as currently written." Following several media reports indicating that local school districts continued to disclose information to the I.N.S., a further hearing was held in September 1976 to assess whether the superintendent had complied with the injunction's terms. After the hearing, the court directed the superintendent to issue a new memorandum requiring the local districts to comply with the court's order. [43 Cal. 3d 1288] When the superintendent did so, plaintiffs took no further action at the trial court level.
The Legislature adopted section 1021.5 as a codification of the private attorney general doctrine of attorney fees developed in prior judicial decisions. (Woodland Hills Residents Assn., Inc. v. City Council (1979) 23 Cal. 3d 917, 933 [154 Cal. Rptr. 503, 593 P.2d 200].) Under this section, the court may award attorney fees to a "successful party" in any action that "has resulted in the enforcement of an important right affecting the public interest if: (a) a significant benefit, whether pecuniary or nonpecuniary, has been conferred on the general public or a large class of persons, (b) the necessity and financial burden of private enforcement are such as to make the award appropriate, and (c) such fees should not in the interest of justice be paid out of the recovery, if any." [1] As we explained in Woodland [43 Cal. 3d 1289] Hills Residents Assn., Inc. v. City Council, supra, 23 Cal.3d at page 933, the private attorney general doctrine "rests upon the recognition that privately initiated lawsuits are often essential to the effectuation of the fundamental public policies embodied in constitutional or statutory provisions, and that, without some mechanism authorizing the award of attorney fees, private actions to enforce such important public policies will as a practical matter frequently be infeasible." Thus, the fundamental objective of the doctrine is to encourage suits enforcing important public policies by providing substantial attorney fees to successful litigants in such cases. (Ibid.)
[2] A statutory fee motion under section 1021.5 does not create a new cause of action. Instead, the motion is "a collateral matter, ancillary to the main cause." (Serrano IV, supra, 32 Cal.3d at p. 637.) Before a trial court may award fees, section 1021.5 requires that an action result in the enforcement of an important right and confer a substantial benefit on the public. Given these statutory requirements, we have stated that section 1021.5 motions may not be heard "until the benefit is secure, in some cases after judgment is final." (Folsom v. Butte County Assn. of Governments (1982) 32 Cal. 3d 668, 679 [186 Cal. Rptr. 589, 652 P.2d 437]; Citizens Against Rent Control v. City of Berkeley (1986) 181 Cal. App. 3d 213, 226-227 [226 Cal. Rptr. 265].) Thus, the trial court retains jurisdiction under section 1021.5 to hear an application for fees after the judgment in the underlying action has become final. (Folsom v. Butte County Assn. of Governments, supra, 32 Cal.3d at p. 679; Citizens Against Rent Control v. City of Berkeley, supra, 181 Cal.App.3d at pp. 226-227; Marini v. Municipal Court (1979) 99 Cal. App. 3d 829, 834-835 [160 Cal. Rptr. 465]; see also White v. New Hampshire Dept. of Empl. Sec. (1982) 455 U.S. 445, 451-452 [71 L. Ed. 2d 325, 331, 102 S. Ct. 1162] [court's decision on attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 requires inquiry separate from decision on the merits, which inquiry "cannot even commence until one party has "prevailed'"].)
[3a] Defendants acknowledge these general principles but argue that they are not applicable here. Defendants point out that dismissal of an action not brought to trial within five years is mandatory under section 583, subdivision (b). Thus, they argue, the statute is jurisdictional and divests the court of authority to issue further orders. (See, e.g., White v. Renck (1980) 108 Cal. App. 3d 835, 840-841 [71 L. Ed. 2d 325, 102 S. Ct. 1162]; McDonough Power Equipment Co. v. Superior Court (1972) 8 Cal. 3d 527, 530-531 [105 Cal. Rptr. 330, 503 P.2d 1338]; Weeks v. Roberts (1968) 68 Cal. 2d 802, 805 [69 Cal. Rptr. 305, 442 P.2d 361], revd. on other grounds (1986) 42 Cal. 3d 342 [228 Cal. Rptr. 504, 721 P.2d 590].) Moreover, they claim that upon dismissal, there is no judgment, settlement, or consent decree in plaintiffs' favor to which an attorney fees application could be deemed collateral or ancillary. [43 Cal. 3d 1290]
Simply labeling a section 583 dismissal as "jurisdictional" does not end our inquiry about statutory attorney fees. [4] Under the federal Constitution, a dismissal for mootness deprives a federal court of jurisdiction to hear the underlying cause. (U.S. Const., art. III, § 2.) Nevertheless, the federal court still retains jurisdiction to address the issue of attorney fees for a prevailing party under 42 United States Code section 1988. (Martin v. Heckler (11th Cir. 1985) 773 F.2d 1145, 1148-1149 (en banc); Williams v. Alioto (9th Cir. 1980) 625 F.2d 845, 847-848, cert. den. (1981) 450 U.S. 1012 [68 L. Ed. 2d 213, 101 S. Ct. 1723]; Bagby v. Beal (3d Cir. 1979) 606 F.2d 411, 413-415.) Since both this court and the Legislature have relied on federal cases in framing the private attorney general theory, we regard the federal precedent in this area as persuasive. (Serrano IV, supra, 32 Cal.3d at p. 634; Woodland Hills Residents Assn., Inc., supra, 23 Cal.3d at p. 934.)
[3b] Contrary to defendants' claim, a dismissal for lack of prosecution under section 583 does result in a judgment. (§ 581d.) Moreover, a section 583 dismissal does not divest the trial court of jurisdiction to consider matters ancillary to the underlying action such as an application for attorney fees under section 1021.5. (No Oil, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles (1984) 153 Cal. App. 3d 998, 1006 [200 Cal. Rptr. 768]; cf. Folsom v. Butte County Assn. of Governments, supra, 32 Cal.3d at pp. 677-679 [court retains jurisdiction after the filing of compromise agreement to consider costs bill and § 1021.5 attorney fee motion].)
The Court of Appeal's reasoning is flawed. [6] Our prior cases uniformly explain that an attorney fee award may be justified even when [43 Cal. 3d 1291] plaintiff's legal action does not result in a favorable final judgment. (Westside Community for Independent Living, Inc. v. Obledo (1983) 33 Cal. 3d 348, 352 [188 Cal. Rptr. 873, 657 P.2d 365]; see also Press v. Lucky Stores, Inc. (1983) 34 Cal. 3d 311 [193 Cal. Rptr. 900, 667 P.2d 704] [although their action had become moot, plaintiffs were awarded fees under § 1021.5 because they had achieved the relief they sought through preliminary injunction].) It is also clear that the procedural device by which a plaintiff seeks to enforce an important right is not determinative of his or her entitlement to attorney fees under section 1021.5. (In re Head (1986) 42 Cal. 3d 223, 228-229 [228 Cal. Rptr. 184, 721 P.2d 65].) Similarly, a section 1021.5 award is not necessarily barred merely because the plaintiff won the case on a preliminary issue. (Woodland Hills Resident Assn., Inc., supra, 23 Cal.3d at p. 938.) In determining whether a plaintiff is a successful party for purposes of section 1021.5, "[t]he critical fact is the impact of the action, not the manner of its resolution." (Folsom, supra, 32 Cal.3d at p. 685.)
The trial court in its discretion "must realistically assess the litigation and determine, from a practical perspective, whether or not the action served to vindicate an important right so as to justify an attorney fee award" under section 1021.5. (Woodland Hills Residents Assn., supra, 23 Cal.3d at p. 938.) [7] The trial court's decision on this issue should be reversed only if there has been a prejudicial abuse of discretion. "'"To be entitled to relief on appeal ... it must clearly appear that the injury resulting from such a wrong is sufficiently grave to amount to a manifest miscarriage of justice. ..."'" (Baggett v. Gates (1982) 32 Cal. 3d 128, 143 [185 Cal. Rptr. 232, 649 P.2d 874], citation omitted.)
[8] As the Court of Appeal stated, there must be a causal connection between the plaintiffs' lawsuit and the relief obtained in order to justify a fee award under section 1021.5 to a successful party. (Westside Community for Independent Living, Inc., supra, 33 Cal.3d at p. 353.) "'The appropriate benchmarks in determining which party prevailed are (a) the situation immediately prior to the commencement of suit, and (b) the situation today, and the role, if any, played by the litigation in effecting any changes between the two.'" (Folsom, supra, 32 Cal.3d at p. 685, fn. 31, citation omitted.) An award of attorney fees under section 1021.5 is appropriate when a plaintiff's [43 Cal. 3d 1292] lawsuit "'was a catalyst motivating defendants to provide the primary relief sought,'" or when plaintiff vindicates an important right "'by activating defendants to modify their behavior.'" (Westside Community for Independent Living, Inc., supra, 33 Cal.3d at p. 353, original italics, citations omitted; see also Folsom, supra, 32 Cal.3d at pp. 685-686 [plaintiffs regarded as prevailing parties when their lawsuit "substantially contributed" to the result achieved].) In a similar situation involving 42 United States Code section 1988, the United States Supreme Court expressed the appropriate standard as follows: "'plaintiffs may be considered "prevailing parties" for attorney's fees purposes if they succeed on any significant issue in litigation which achieves some of the benefit the parties sought in bringing suit.'" (Hensley v. Eckerhart (1983) 461 U.S. 424, 433 [76 L. Ed. 2d 40, 50, 103 S. Ct. 1933], citation omitted.)
In reversing the trial court's fee award, the Court of Appeal concluded that the preliminary injunction did not change defendant's behavior because neither state nor local defendants had previously implemented or enforced Education Code section 6957. We find this conclusion unwarranted. [9] First, plaintiffs are not required to wait until they have suffered actual harm before they apply for an injunction, but may seek injunctive relief against the threatened infringement of their rights. (See, e.g., Cohen v. Board of Supervisors (1985) 40 Cal. 3d 277 [219 Cal. Rptr. 467, 707 P.2d 840] [plaintiffs' action for declaratory and injunctive relief filed before enforcement date of city ordinance]; Abbott v. City of Los Angeles (1960) 53 Cal. 2d 674, 678, fn. 2 [3 Cal. Rptr. 158, 349 P.2d 974, 82 A.L.R.2d 385]; EWAP, Inc. v. City of Ontario (1986) 177 Cal. App. 3d 1108, 1116-1117 [223 Cal. Rptr. 422].) [5d] Second, an examination of the record reveals ample support for the trial court's finding of threatened harm to plaintiffs.
In issuing its preliminary injunction, the trial court found that Maria P. was subject to having her identity and status disclosed to the I.N.S. and was likely to suffer irreparable harm as a result. Even though it had not previously enforced Education Code section 6957, El Centro School District admitted in court proceedings that they would report Maria's name to the I.N.S. if the state instructed them to do so. Furthermore, the superintendent sought to modify the preliminary injunction issued, asserting that he had no authority to prevent local districts from enforcing a valid state statute. In [43 Cal. 3d 1293] fact, the superintendent's original letter to local school districts advised them to consult with local county counsel to ascertain whether the court's order applied to them. This letter prompted plaintiffs to return to the trial court after the superintendent refused to issue a new letter without a court order. As a direct result of plaintiffs' action, the court ordered the superintendent to issue a second memorandum, mandating the local districts' compliance with the court's original preliminary injunction order.
We conclude that the record supports the trial court's decision that plaintiffs were successful parties under section 1021.5. Plaintiffs' action vindicated an important right affecting the public interest by protecting the confidentiality of the school records of Maria P. and other similarly situated children as mandated by federal law. Their action also served to protect these children's right to equal educational opportunities, a vitally important right in our society. (See, e.g., Serrano v. Priest (1976) 18 Cal. 3d 728 [135 Cal. Rptr. 345, 557 P.2d 929]; Hartzell v. Connell (1984) 35 Cal. 3d 899, 907-908 [201 Cal. Rptr. 601, 679 P.2d 35]; cf. Plyler v. Doe (1982) 457 U.S. 202 [72 L. Ed. 2d 786, 102 S. Ct. 2382].) This is precisely the type of public interest lawsuit that the private attorney general doctrine of section 1021.5 was intended to foster.
Before the section 1021.5 hearing in this action, defendants requested that the trial court issue a written statement of decision pursuant to section 632 explaining the factual and legal basis for its decision regarding attorney [43 Cal. 3d 1294] fees. fn. 6 The court's order granting the motion for attorney fees contains certain findings, fn. 7 but does not contain findings on the factual issues of attorneys' hours or rates.
Cases decided under section 632 generally have held that a statement of decision is not required upon decision of a motion. (See, Lavine v. Hospital of the Good Samaritan (1985) 169 Cal. App. 3d 1019, 1026 [215 Cal. Rptr. 708]; In re Marriage of Simmons (1975) 49 Cal. App. 3d 833, 836 [123 Cal. Rptr. 213] [findings of fact are only required on issues joined by the pleadings where the decision of the court following the findings is a judgment];7 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (3d ed. 1985) Trial, § 371, pp. 377-378.) Courts have created an exception for proceedings involving custody of children (Michael U. v. Jamie B. (1985) 39 Cal. 3d 787, 792 [218 Cal. Rptr. 39, 705 P.2d 362]; In re Rose G. (1976) 57 Cal. App. 3d 406, 418 [129 Cal.Rptr. 338]). However, we have discovered no case requiring a statement of decision for an order on a motion for attorney fees.
[11] In Serrano v. Priest (1977) 20 Cal. 3d 25, 48-49 [141 Cal. Rptr. 315, 569 P.2d 1303] (Serrano III), we promulgated guidelines by which courts calculate the amount of attorney fees under section 1021.5. These guidelines require the trial court first to determine a touchstone (or lodestar) figure based on the time spent and reasonable hourly compensation for each attorney involved in the case. (Id., at p. 48.) The touchstone figure may be increased or decreased by the trial court depending on other factors involved in the lawsuit. fn. 8 [43 Cal. 3d 1295]
We find it unnecessary, however, to remand this case to redetermine attorney fees. It is the burden of the party challenging the fee award on appeal to provide an adequate record to assess error. (In re Kathy P. (1979) 25 Cal. 3d 91, 102 [157 Cal. Rptr. 874, 599 P.2d 65]; Calhoun v. Hildebrandt (1964) 230 Cal. App. 2d 70, 72 [40 Cal. Rptr. 690]; In re Salazar (1962) 205 Cal. App. 2d 102, 105 [22 Cal. Rptr. 770].) Here, defendants should have augmented the record with a settled statement of the proceeding. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 4(e); In re Kathy P., supra, 25 Cal.3d at p. 102; Ehman v. Moore (1963) 221 Cal. App. 2d 460 [34 Cal. Rptr. 540].) Because they [43 Cal. 3d 1296] failed to furnish an adequate record of the attorney fee proceedings, defendants' claim must be resolved against them.
FN 2. In Serrano v. Unruh (1982) 32 Cal. 3d 621, 639, footnote 29 [186 Cal. Rptr. 754, 652 P.2d 985] (Serrano IV), we emphasized that section 1021.5 represented an independent state rule for awarding attorney fees to a successful litigant under the private attorney general doctrine. Because we uphold plaintiffs' award under state law in this case, we do not reach the issue of plaintiffs' entitlement to fees under the federal act.
FN 3. Former section 583, subdivision (b) provided, in pertinent part, that a court shall dismiss any action "unless such action is brought to trial within five years after the plaintiff has filed his action, except where the parties have filed a stipulation in writing that the time may be extended." The substance of subdivision (b) is continued in sections 583.310, 583.330 and 583.360, but for convenience of reference, section 583, subdivision (b) will be used throughout the opinion.
FN 4. Former Education Code section 6957 provided: "The State Superintendent of Public Instruction may furnish the forms and shall prescribe the procedures required of school districts and county superintendents of schools under this chapter, and shall adopt all rules and regulations necessary for carrying out its provisions.
FN 5. Before issuance of the preliminary injunction, plaintiffs withdrew their allegations that El Centro School District had wrongfully excluded Maria P. and similarly situated children from its schools.
FN 6. Section 632 provides, in relevant part: "In superior, municipal, and justice courts, upon the trial of a question of fact by the court, written findings of fact and conclusions of law shall not be required. Upon the request of any party appearing at the trial, made within 10 days after the court announces a tentative decision, or if the trial has lasted less than one day, made prior to submission of the matter for decision, the court shall issue a statement of decision explaining the factual and legal basis for its decision as to each of the principal controverted issues at trial."
FN 7. The trial court found that "plaintiffs conferred a substantial benefit upon a large class of persons and the public at large by obtaining a preliminary injunction herein; that the financial burden of private enforcement of the rights vindicated by plaintiff cannot feasibly be borne by the class benefitted [sic]; that after the issuance of the preliminary injunction this case became moot and was ultimately dismissed on motion of defendants; and that plaintiffs are entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees for obtaining the preliminary injunction from the State defendant." The court further found that "plaintiffs did not establish a 'causal relationship' between the instant action and the legislative amendment of former Education Code section 6957 (renumbered section 42911); and [] that plaintiffs are entitled to an award of reasonable attorney's fees in the amount of $40,000.00."
FN 8. In Serrano III, this court listed a number of relevant factors the trial court may consider in adjusting the lodestar figure, including: "(1) the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved, and the skill displayed in presenting them; (2) the extent to which the nature of the litigation precluded other employment by the attorneys; (3) the contingent nature of the fee award, both from the point of view of eventual victory on the merits and the point of view of establishing eligibility for an award; (4) the fact that an award against the state would ultimately fall upon the taxpayers; (5) the fact that the attorneys in question received public and charitable funding for the purpose of bringing law suits of the character here involved; (6) the fact that the monies awarded would inure not to the individual benefit of the attorneys involved but the organizations by which they are employed ...." (20 Cal.3d at p. 49.)