Special Fee Shifting Statutes: Lower Court’s Denial Of PRA Fees On A Catalyst Theory Affirmed On Appeal

Correlation Is Not The Same As Causation, With This Issue Reviewed For Abuse Of Discretion.

            In Valenti v. City of San Diego, Case No. D080133 (4^th Dist., Div. 1 July 18, 2021) (certified for publication on August 8, 2023), the lower court denied a request for $250,000 in attorney’s fees (lodestar plus a 1.25 multiplier) under the California Public Records Act fee shifting provision, Government Code § 7923.115 (formerly § 6259).  The basis for this denial was that plaintiff’s lawsuit was not a sufficiently substantial cause of the City’s production of public records—put another way, a causation issue.

            The appellate court affirmed the lower court’s denial under a deferential abuse of discretion.   Correlation as to time is not the same as causation, with the facts showing that the City of San Diego simply produced 10 emails in the ordinary course of business.  Also, as a hint for litigators in this area, you should ask for clarification as a PRA petitioner for purposes of obtaining fees because a failure to do so means this is a factor which may result in a fee denial.