Supreme Court of California

California law recognizes the catalyst theory and does not require a judicially recognized change in the legal relationship between the parties as a prerequisite for obtaining attorney fees under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/02/2004
• Published 12/02/2004

Judges

• MORENO, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Law Office of Carol A. Sobel, Carol A. Sobel, Santa Monica;  Litt & Associates, Barrett S. Litt, Paula A. Daniels, Los Angeles;  English, Munger & Rice, Constance L. Rice;  NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Theodore Shaw;  ACLU Foundation of Southern California, Mark D. Rosenbaum, Los Angeles;  Schonbrun, Desimone, Seplow, Harris & Hoffman and Paul L. Hoffman, Venice, for Plaintiffs and Appellants., Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Manuel M. Medeiros, State Solicitor General, Richard M. Frank, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Theodora Berger, Assistant Attorney General, and Edward G. Weil, Deputy Attorney General, as Amici Curiae on behalf of Plaintiffs and Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• F. Paul Bland, Kerry-Ann T. Powell, Victoria W. Ni, Oakland, Arthur H. Bryant;  Michael Schuster, Deborah Zuckerman, Wash., D.C.;   and Mark Savage, San Francisco, for Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, AARP, ACLU of Northern California, ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties, Asian Law Caucus, Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California, Bet Tzedek-The House of Justice, California League for Environmental Enforcement Now, California Women's Law Center, Consumers Union of U.S., Inc., Disability Rights Advocates, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc., The First Amendment Project, The Impact Fund, Law Offices of Joaquin G. Avila, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, National Association of Consumer Advocates, National Center for Youth Law, Prison Law Office, Protection and Advocacy, Inc., Public Advocates, Inc., Public Citizen, Public Counsel, Public InterestLaw Project, Rosen, Bien & Asaro, Western Center on Law and Poverty, Western Law Center for Disability Rights and Youth Law Center as Amici Curiae on behalf of Plaintiffs and Respondents., Rockard Delgadillo, City Attorney, Claudia McGee Henry and Gary G. Geuss, Assistant City Attorneys, Angel Manzano, Jr., Deputy City Attorney;  Bergman & Dacey, Gregory M. Bergman, Mark W. Waterman and Beth D. Orellana, Los Angeles, for Defendant and Appellant., Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney (Santa Monica), for League of California Cities and California State Association of Counties as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Appellant., Somach, Simmons & Dunn, Timothy M. Taylor, Erica R. Arceo and Nicholas A. Jacobs, Sacramento, for Western Placer Waste Management Authority as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Appellant.