Prevailing Party, Private Attorney General: Private Attorney General Fee Denial Affirmed Based On Litigant’s Failure To File Appellate Opening Brief And Small Fees Award Against Governmental Entity Reversed As A Matter Of Law

Plaintiff Did Not Prevail Against Governmental Entity So That $7,500 Government Code Section 800 Award Went POOF! On Appeal.

            Ya know, appellate proceedings can really change results at the trial court level at different junctures of a case.  1041 20^th Street, LLC v. Santa Monica Rent Control Bd., Case No. B295812 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Feb. 18, 2020) (unpublished) exemplifies how this can occur.

            What happened here is that a plaintiff did prevail at the trial level with respect to obtaining a writ of administrative mandate, a determination which was reversed on appeal.  The trial judge denied a private attorney general fees motion by plaintiff, but it did decide that plaintiff was entitled to $7,500 against the Rent Control Board pursuant to Government Code section 800 (which allows a capped sum against a governmental decision for capricious actions, in essence).

            All of the fee exposure against the Rent Control Board went away on appeal.  Plaintiff failed to timely file an appellant’s opening brief such that its appeal of the fee orders went POOF!  Similarly, the Government Code section 800 award went POOF! because there needed to be a prevailing party—but plaintiff was not that based upon a reversal in a prior appellate court decision.  Simply put, outta luck, plaintiff, sorry ….. that is what can happen on appeal!