California Licensed Foresters Ass'n v. State Board of Forestry

Defendants appeal from an order of the trial court granting plaintiff’s motion for attorney fees following voluntary dismissal of the underlying action. We shall conclude the cost of litigation was not out of proportion to plaintiffs individual stake in the outcome, and therefore plaintiff was not functioning as a private attorney general. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 1021.5.) Accordingly, we shall reverse.

I

The underlying dispute involves a challenge to emergency regulations and guidelines adopted without notice or public hearing by defendant California State Board of Forestry (Board) pursuant to its rule making powers under the Z’berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973 (Pub. Resources Code, § 4511 et seq., hereafter the Forest Practice Act). The Forest Practice Act governs harvesting of timber on nonfederal land within the State of California (Pub. Resources Code, §§ 4513, 4526) and is designed “to encourage prudent and responsible forest resource management calculated to serve the public’s need for timber and other forest products, while giving consideration to the public’s need for watershed protection, fisheries and wildlife, and recreational opportunities alike in…