Solorzano

Petitioners Ada Solorzano, America Rodriguez and Dolores Morales (plaintiffs) filed suit against defendant and respondent Family Health Plan (FHP) alleging, inter alia, FHP engaged in unfair business practices and misleading advertising in the solicitation of subscribers to its senior plan. Plaintiffs brought suit on these theories in their individual capacities and on behalf of the general public. (See Bus. & Prof. Code, §§ 17204, 17535.) Plaintiffs are proceeding in forma pauperis in the trial court and before this court.

In the course of pretrial proceedings, the trial court appointed a privately compensated discovery referee and ordered plaintiffs and FHP to share equally in the payment of the referee’s $300-per-hour fee. Plaintiffs seek a writ of mandate directing the trial court to vacate that order and to issue a new order relieving plaintiffs of the obligation to pay the referee’s fees. We issued an order to show cause why a peremptory writ of mandate granting the relief requested should not issue.

Code of Civil Procedure sections 639 and 645.1 enable the trial court to utilize private referees to resolve discovery disputes, inter alia, between litigants.…