California Appellate Tracker

Millview County Water Dist. v. State Water Resources Control Bd.

November 6, 2016

In a suit seeking to overturn a state regulatory body’s cease-and-desist order that was preventing purchase of water rights, plaintiff water district was not entitled to a fee award under the Private Attorney General Act because its own financial interest in completing the purchase contract—broadly construed—far exceeded the amount it spent on attorney fees.

For purposes of determining entitlement to a private attorney general fee award under CCP 1021.5, financial burden of the litigation must exceed the prevailing party’s personal interest in the litigation—that is, its economic interest in the litigation broadly construed, not just the amount of damages it might recover if it prevailed. Here, the plaintiffs were not entitled to a fee award because their financial interests in the litigation far exceeded the amount they spent on attorney fees. The seller of water rights stood to gain $1.6 million from the purchase contract if the defendant’s cease and desist order was overturned. The buyer water district stood to gain both a steady water supply for its customers and value for the $500,000 downpayment it had made on the contract to buy water rights.

California Court of Appeal, First District, Division 1 (Margulies, Acting P.J.); September 28, 2016 (modified & published on denial of rehearing October 26, 2016); 2016 WL 6249041

Subscribe to California Appellate Tracker

Thank you for your desire to subscribe to Severson & Werson’s Appellate Tracker Weblog. In order to subscribe, you must provide a valid name and e-mail address. This too will be retained on our server. When you push the “subscribe button”, we will send an electronic mail to the address that you provided asking you to confirm your subscription to our Weblog. By pushing the “subscribe button”, you represent and warrant that you are over the age of 18 years old, are the owner/authorized user of that e-mail address, and are entitled to receive e-mails at that address. Our weblog will retain your name and e-mail address on its server, or the server of its web host. However, we won’t share any of this information with anyone except the Firm’s employees and contractors, except under certain extraordinary circumstances described on our Privacy Policy and (About The Consumer Finance Blog/About the Appellate Tracker Weblog) Page. NOTICE AND AGREEMENT REGARDING E-MAILS AND CALLS/TEXT MESSAGES TO LAND-LINE AND WIRELESS TELEPHONES: By providing your contact information and confirming your subscription in response to the initial e-mail that we send you, you agree to receive e-mail messages from Severson & Werson from time-to-time and understand and agree that such messages are or may be sent by means of automated dialing technology. If you have your email forwarded to other electronic media, including text messages and cellular telephone by way of VoIP, internet, social media, or otherwise, you agree to receive my messages in that way. This may result in charges to you. Your agreement and consent also extend to any other agents, affiliates, or entities to whom our communications are forwarded. You agree that you will notify Severson & Werson in writing if you revoke this agreement and that your revocation will not be effective until you notify Severson & Werson in writing. You understand and agree that you will afford Severson & Werson a reasonable time to unsubscribe you from the website, that the ability to do so depends on Severson & Werson’s press of business and access to the weblog, and that you may still receive one or more emails or communications from weblog until we are able to unsubscribe you.

I Agree

Effective, Experienced, Exceptional.

California Appellate Tracker

Millview County Water Dist. v. State Water Resources Control Bd.

Categories

San Francisco

Severson & Werson

Orange County

Severson & Werson