Bouvia

In this consolidated appeal, plaintiff Elizabeth Bouvia seeks review of two separate orders denying her requests for an award of attorney’s fees under the private attorney general doctrine codified in Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5 and the federal Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Award Act of 1976 ( 42 U.S.C. § 1988 ). We affirm in part and reverse in part.

This is the second time the instant case has come before us. In 1986, Bouvia, then 28 years old and suffering from severe cerebral palsy, sought the removal of a nasogastric feeding tube inserted against her will by the medical staff of the High Desert Hospital (HDH), a skilled nursing facility operated by the County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services. Shortly after being admitted to that institution in December 1985, plaintiff’s caloric intake and weight fell to a level that her treating physician, Dr. Harry Glencher, M.D., believed was life threatening. Glenchur, who also served as medical director of the hospital, subsequently ordered that Bouvia be force-fed until her weight stabilized. Contending that she had a right to refuse any and all medical treatment, plaintiff initiated the underlying action…