Virga

—Appellants State of California, Department of Personnel Administration, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and three state officials appeal following the denial of two requests for attorney fees after they successfully defended against a claim brought by respondent California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) and eight of its members pursuant to 42 United States Code section 1983 (section 1983). We conclude that appellants were not entitled to attorney fees pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1038, because this action did not qualify as a “civil proceeding under the California Tort Claims Act” (§ 1038, subd. (a)) for purposes of the statute. We also conclude that the trial court did not err in denying appellants’ second motion for fees under the federal Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Awards Act of 1976 ( 42 U.S.C. § 1988 (b) (section 1988)) pursuant to section 1008. We therefore affirm the judgment.

I.

Factual and Procedural Background

CCPOA is a union representing approximately 30,000 state employees. According to the union’s complaint, the organization, along with union members Michael Jimenez, Robert Dean, James Martin, Lance…