No Oil, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles

The issue presented by this appeal is whether the trial court properly granted the motion of defendants, City of Los Angeles (City), and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Occidental), to dismiss all further proceedings in the case pursuant to the three-year rule of Code of Civil Procedure section 583, subdivision (c), and thus foreclose the plaintiffs from resetting their motion for attorneys’ fees pursuant to the provisions of section 1021.5. For reasons to follow, we have concluded that the trial court’s decision granting defendants’ dismissal motion should be reversed.

Facts

On October 27, 1972, the plaintiffs filed their petition and complaint challenging the failure of the City to prepare an environmental impact report (EIR) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) prior to the enactment of certain ordinances establishing oil drilling districts in Pacific Palisades, and seeking a writ of mandate to declare the ordinances invalid. The complaint contained a prayer for attorneys’ fees.

Following a court trial, the trial court, on January 15, 1973, entered judgment in favor of defendants. Plaintiffs appealed and, eventually, on December 10, 1974, the…