Sweetwater Union High Sch. Dist. v. Julian Union Elementary Sch. Dist.

36 Cal.App.5th 970

249 Cal.Rptr.3d 309

SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.JULIAN UNION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT et. al., Defendants and Appellants.

D073878

Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 1, California.

Filed June 4, 2019

Blank Rome, Gregory M. Bordo, Christopher J. Petersen and Dustin Z. Moaven, Los Angeles, for Defendants and Appellants.

Dannis Woliver Kelley, Sarah L.W. Sutherland, San Diego, and Keith A. Yeomans, Los Angeles, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

NARES, J.

Julian Union Elementary School District (Julian) and Diego Plus Education Corporation (Diego Plus) doing business as Diego Valley Public Charter (Diego Valley) (together appellants) appeal an attorney fee award to Sweetwater Union High School District (Sweetwater) made under Code of Civil Procedure¹ section 1021.5. Appellants assert that Sweetwater did not qualify as a successful party under section 1021.5 because Sweetwater: (1) failed to achieve its primary litigation goal, (2) the relief it achieved was illusory, and (3) its suit was not a catalyst in motivating either Julian or Diego Valley to take or not take any particular action. Even assuming the trial court did not err in awarding Sweetwater successful party status, appellants claim that Sweetwater was not entitled to a fee award because Sweetwater failed to carry its burden of establishing all requirements for a fee award under section 1021.5. Assuming we reject its other arguments, appellants claim that the trial court abused its discretion by rubberstamping the amount of attorney fees that Sweetwater requested. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Sweetwater and Julian are public school districts in San Diego County, California. Sweetwater provides educational services to over 40,000 students in several cities in San Diego County, including Chula Vista and National City. Julian serves just over 300 students from preschool to eighth grade; it does not serve high school students.

Diego Plus operates the charter schools Diego Valley and Diego Springs Academy (Diego Springs). Diego Plus pays fees to Julian for its Diego Valley charter school program. Diego Springs operates resource centers at 2 North Euclid Avenue in National City (the National City facility) and at 310 Broadway in Chula Vista (the Chula Vista facility). Both facilities are located within Sweetwater's school district boundaries.

In March 2015 Sweetwater sent letters to Julian and Diego Valley requesting that they stop operating within Sweetwater's geographic boundaries. In June 2015, after neither Julian nor Diego Valley responded, Sweetwater filed this action to enforce the Charter Schools Act (CSA) ( Ed. Code, § 47600 et seq. ). In its petition for a writ of mandate, Sweetwater alleged that Julian approved a charter petition for Diego Valley and that Diego Valley has been operating charter schools outside Julian's geographic boundaries.

On October 17, 2016, the third district filed its opinion in Anderson Union High School Dist. v. Shasta Secondary Home School (2016) 4 Cal.App.5th 262, 208 Cal.Rptr.3d 564 ( Anderson ), holding that the geographic limitations in the CSA apply to all charter schools, whether classroom-based or nonclassroom-based, such as resource centers. ( Id. at pp. 275-277, 208 Cal.Rptr.3d 564.) After Anderson , Sweetwater attempted to resolve the case through a stipulated judgment, but appellants "rejected any efforts to settle" the litigation.

Julian subsequently submitted an application to the State Board of Education (SBE) requesting a waiver of the CSA's geographic restrictions pursuant to Education Code section 33050. The waiver application admitted that Julian had four resource centers that may be affected by the Anderson opinion.

In March 2017 several Diego Valley students moved to intervene, alleging that Sweetwater's lawsuit would deprive them of their constitutional right of access to a quality public education.² In April 2017 Sweetwater filed its motion for judgment, asserting that Julian was allowing Diego Plus to open facilities outside Julian's school district. Sweetwater argued that Anderson , supra , 4 Cal.App.5th 262, 208 Cal.Rptr.3d 564, unequivocally prohibited Diego Plus's operations and that Julian and Diego Valley sought to justify their out-of-district operations under other exceptions to the CSA's location requirements.

In May 2017 Julian and Diego Plus filed opposition. Among other things, Diego Plus argued that Diego Valley does not operate and has never operated within Sweetwater's geographic boundaries. Among other things, Julian argued that Sweetwater sued the wrong parties because the National City and Chula Vista facilities are operated by Diego Springs. In May 2017 the SBE granted Julian's waiver application. The parties submitted supplemental briefs addressing the impact, if any, of SBE's waiver on Sweetwater's claims.

The trial court issued a tentative ruling, which it later affirmed after hearing the parties' arguments. The court declined to issue a writ of mandate directing that Julian revoke Diego Valley's charter, essentially concluding this form of relief would unreasonably disrupt students. The court declared that Diego Valley's operation at the National City and Chula Vista facilities "would be in violation of the Education Code" and enjoined Diego Valley from operating both facilities.

Thereafter, Sweetwater moved for an attorney fees award under section 1021.5, arguing, among other things, that its action acted as a catalyst for appellants' pursuit of the SBE waiver. The court granted the motion, finding that the requirements of section 1021.5 were satisfied, and awarded Sweetwater $166,027.05 in attorney fees. Appellants timely appealed from the fee award, but did not appeal the order on the merits of Sweetwater's claims.

DISCUSSION

I. SECTION 1021.5

"The Legislature adopted section 1021.5 as a codification of the private attorney general doctrine of attorney fees developed in prior judicial decisions." ( Maria P. v. Riles (1987) 43 Cal.3d 1281, 1288, 240 Cal.Rptr. 872, 743 P.2d 932.) "[T]he fundamental objective of the doctrine is to encourage suits enforcing important public policies by providing substantial attorney fees to successful litigants in such cases." ( Id. at p. 1289, 240 Cal.Rptr. 872, 743 P.2d 932.) "Due to the burdens imposed on public agencies, adequate government enforcement of the laws is not always possible, making private action imperative." ( Hewlett v. Squaw Valley Ski Corp. (1997) 54 Cal.App.4th 499, 545, 63 Cal.Rptr.2d 118 ( Hewlett ).)

"A court may award attorney fees under section 1021.5 only if the statute's requirements are satisfied. Thus, a court may award fees only to ‘a successful party’ and only if the action has ‘resulted in the enforcement of an important right affecting the public interest ....’ [Citation.] Three additional conditions must also exist: ‘(a) a significant benefit, whether pecuniary or nonpecuniary, has been conferred on the general public or a large class of persons, (b) the necessity and financial burden of private enforcement ... are such as to make the award appropriate, and (c) such fees should not in the interest of justice be paid out of the recovery, if any.’ "³ ( Vasquez v. State of California (2008) 45 Cal.4th 243, 250-251, 85 Cal.Rptr.3d 466, 195 P.3d 1049 ( Vasquez ), quoting § 1021.5.)

The determination whether a party has met the requirement for an award of fees and the reasonable amount of such an award are matters best decided by the trial court in the first instance. ( Hewlett , supra , 54 Cal.App.4th at p. 544, 63 Cal.Rptr.2d 118.) That court "must realistically assess the litigation and determine from a practical perspective whether the statutory criteria have been met." ( Ibid. ) We will uphold the trial court's decision to award attorney fees under section 1021.5 unless the trial court abused its discretion. ( Graham v. DaimlerChrysler Corp. (2004) 34 Cal.4th 553, 578, 21 Cal.Rptr.3d 331, 101 P.3d 140 ( Graham ).) In making this determination we review the entire record, noting the trial court's stated reasons for awarding fees and whether it applied the proper standards of law in reaching its decision. ( Hewlett , at p. 544, 63 Cal.Rptr.2d 118.) Where, as here, litigation ends at the trial court level, we owe "the trial court a full measure of deference in deciding whether the trial court abused its discretion." ( Los Angeles Police Protective League v. City of Los Angeles (1986) 188 Cal.App.3d 1, 8, 232 Cal.Rptr. 697.) Thus, we will reverse the award "only if it is clearly wrong or has no reasonable basis." ( San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, Inc. v. County of San Bernardino (1984) 155 Cal.App.3d 738, 754, 202 Cal.Rptr. 423 ( San Bernardino Valley ).)

We review any factual findings by the trial court in connection with the ruling under the substantial evidence standard. ( Ellis v. Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (2013) 218 Cal.App.4th 853, 881, 160 Cal.Rptr.3d 557.) Additionally, we apply a de novo review " ‘ "where the determination of whether the criteria for an award of attorney fees and costs in this context have been satisfied amounts to statutory construction and a question of law." ’ " ( Conservatorship of Whitley (2010) 50 Cal.4th 1206, 1213, 117 Cal.Rptr.3d 342, 241 P.3d 840 ( Whitley ).)

II. ANALYSIS

As a preliminary matter, we note that a trial court is "not required to issue a statement of decision with regard to [a] fee award." ( Ketchum v. Moses (2001) 24 Cal.4th 1122, 1140, 104 Cal.Rptr.2d 377, 17 P.3d 735.) Here, the trial court expressly found that Sweetwater met all elements for an award of fees under section 1021.5. We will not disturb the determination absent a showing it is clearly wrong or there is no reasonable basis for the award. ( San Bernardino Valley , supra , 155 Cal.App.3d at p. 754, 202 Cal.Rptr. 423.) "The pertinent question is whether the grounds given by the court for its [grant] of an award...