The following summaries are of recent published decisions of the California appellate courts, the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. The summaries are presented without regard to whether Severson & Werson represented a party in the case.
Although an award of attorney fees to the plaintiff in a Public Records Act suit is mandatory if the plaintiff is the prevailing party (Gov. Code, 6259(d)), the trial court may exercise its discretion and deny a fee award if it concludes that the plaintiff obtained documents that are so minimal or insignificant as to justify a finding that the… Read More
Plaintiff's record request under the California Public Records Act (Gov. Code 6250 et seq.) should have been granted. It sought all emails between county employees and four specified internet domains over a six year period regardless of subject matter. The County was able to sort its email records and list 42,000 responsive emails. The County claimed, however, it would be… Read More
Under Probate Code 24(c) and 17200, the successor in interest to a person who has a present or future interest in a trust is a "beneficiary" with standing to request an accounting from the trustee. Here, the trial court wrongly dismissed a petition to compel an accounting at a case management conference based on the trustee's objection without giving prior… Read More
The Public Records Act does not require a governmental agency to create new records to produce pursuant to a request, but only requires the production of otherwise existing governmental records in certain circumstances. Read More
