Carmel Valley Fire Protection v. State of Calif.

These consolidated appeals arise from three separate trial court proceedings concerning the heretofore unsuccessful efforts of various local agencies to secure reimbursement of state-mandated costs.

Case No. 2d Civ. B006078 (Carmel Valley et al. case) was the first matter decided by the trial court. The memorandum of decision in that case was judicially noticed by the trial court which heard the consolidated matters in 2d Civ. BO 11941 (Rincon et al. case) and 2d Civ. BO 11942 (County of Los Angeles case). Issues common to all three cases will be discussed together under the County of Los Angeles appeal, while issues unique to the other two appeals will be considered separately.

We identify the parties to the various proceedings in footnote l. For literary convenience, however, we will refer to all appellants as the State and all respondents as the County unless otherwise indicated.

Appeal in Case No. 2 Civil BO 11942

(County of Los Angeles Case)

Facts and Procedural History

County employs fire fighters for whom it purchased protective clothing and equipment, as required by title 8, California Administrative Code, sections 3401-3409, enacted in 1978 (executive…