Opinion ID: 2585012
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Standing of the Steelworkers

Text: As a threshold matter, Pacific Lumber contends that the Steelworkers have no standing to bring this writ of mandate action to challenge the SYP. We disagree. (2) Generally speaking, in order to have standing to sue, a party must be `beneficially interested' (Code Civ. Proc., ง 1086), i.e., have `some special interest to be served or some particular right to be preserved or protected over and above the interest held in common with the public at large.' ( Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc. v. San Francisco Airports Com. (1999) 21 Cal.4th 352, 361-362 [87 Cal.Rptr.2d 654, 981 P.2d 499].) There is nonetheless a well-established exception to the beneficial interest rule for citizen suits. ``[W]here the question is one of public right and the object of the mandamus is to procure the enforcement of a public duty, the relator need not show that he has any legal or special interest in the result, since it is sufficient that he is interested as a citizen in having the laws executed and the duty in question enforced....'' ( Common Cause v. Board of Supervisors (1989) 49 Cal.3d 432, 439 [261 Cal.Rptr. 574, 777 P.2d 610].) The trial court found that in this case, which involves the proper enforcement of administrative regulations governing a plan for logging over 200,000 acres of timberland highly valued both for environmental and economic reasons, a public right and a public duty were at stake. Pacific Lumber did not contest that finding on appeal. Pacific Lumber argues rather that an exception to the rule of citizen standing should be recognized for labor unions like the Steelworkers, along the lines of the exception recognized for corporations in Waste Management of Alameda County, Inc. v. County of Alameda (2000) 79 Cal.App.4th 1223 [94 Cal.Rptr.2d 740] ( Waste Management ). In that case, in considering whether a corporation had standing to bring a CEQA action under the citizen suit doctrine, the court reasoned that where a corporation attempts to maintain a citizen suit, it is appropriate to require the corporation to demonstrate it should be accorded the attributes of a citizen litigant, since it generally is to be expected that a corporation will act out of a concern for what is expedient for the attainment of corporate purposes.... (79 Cal.App.4th at p. 1238.) In giving effect to this principle, the court articulated a number of factors that may be considered, including whether the corporation has demonstrated a continuing interest in or commitment to the subject matter of the public right being asserted [citations]; whether the entity is comprised of or represents individuals who would be beneficially interested in the action [citations]; whether individual persons who are beneficially interested in the action would find it difficult or impossible to seek vindication of their own rights [citations]; and whether prosecution of the action as a citizen's suit by a corporation would conflict with other competing legislative policies [citation]. ( Ibid. ) We need not decide whether the corporate exception to citizen suits articulated by the Waste Management court is a correct statement of the law, nor whether and to what extent that exception applies to labor unions. In this case, the trial court found that the Steelworkers qualified as a citizen litigant under Waste Management. The court concluded that the Steelworkers had shown a continuing interest in and commitment to issues related to this case, including that of sustainable economic development and environmental quality and specifically issues regarding timber harvesting. The court also found that the union had over 12,000 members in California who had sufficient interest in the proper enforcement of timber harvest laws, that interested individuals would have trouble participating in the litigation due to its size and complexity, and that the Steelworkers' participation presented no conflict with competing legislative policies. Pacific Lumber did not contest those findings on appeal and does not discuss the findings before this court. It does quote a statement in the record that the Steelworkers' participation was motivated by a labor dispute with Pacific Lumber's parent company, Maxxam Incorporated. But the record also contains ample evidence the Steelworkers have long-standing involvement in environmental and economic sustainability issues. We will review the trial court's factual determinations that bear upon the issue of standing under a substantial evidence standard. ( Daro v. Superior Court (2007) 151 Cal.App.4th 1079, 1092 [61 Cal.Rptr.3d 716].) We conclude that substantial evidence supports the trial court's conclusion that the Steelworkers have standing in this case.