Prevailing Party, Special Fee Shifting Statutes: Denial Of Attorney’s Fees To Requester Who Received Information Under CPRA After Petitioning For Writ Of Mandate Affirmed On Appeal

Requester’s Litigation Was Not The Catalyst For The Disclosure Of The Information Requester Sought Under The CPRA.

            Under the California Public Records Act (CPRA), a trial court “shall award court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees to the requester should the requester prevail in litigation filed pursuant to this section.” (Gov. Code § 6259(d).)  However, determination as to whether the requester prevailed is left to the trial court’s discretion.

            In Austin v. Trustees of the Cal. State University, Case No. D078950 (4^th Dist., Div. 1 October 11, 2022) (unpublished), requester received the crime victim’s name he sought from California State University (San Marcos) after filing a petition for writ of mandate alleging denial of the CPRA request.  However, the trial court denied requester’s motion for attorney’s fees – finding requester’s litigation was not the catalyst for the disclosure of the victim’s name, and that the denial of his CPRA request was the result of requester’s failure to follow the publicly posted process for his request and submitting the request to the wrong department.  Once requester’s CPRA request made its way to the correct department, the information was provided – a result that could have been achieved without litigation.  As a result, the trial court found that requester had not prevailed within the meaning of the CPRA, and was not entitled to recover fees.  The 4/1 DCA found the trial court’s fee order was supported by substantial evidence, which showed that the litigation was not the motivating factor behind the disclosure of the information requester sought, and affirmed.