RIVERSIDE SHERIFF'S v. County of Riverside

In an action brought under the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBRA) (Gov.Code, § 3300 et seq.), the trial court awarded attorney's fees to the Riverside Sheriffs Association (RSA) under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5. [1] Raising an issue of first impression, the County of Riverside argues on appeal that the right to attorney's fees is provided exclusively by Government Code section 3309.5, subdivision (e), and the RSA was not entitled to a fee award under either statute. The County also challenges the amount of fees awarded.

We hold Government Code section 3309.5 is not the exclusive ground for recovery of attorney's fees in a POBRA case. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in awarding attorney's fees under section 1021.5. We affirm the judgment.

This appeal has its genesis in a petition for writ of mandate filed by the RSA, alleging that several deputy sheriffs, working at the Indio jail, were denied access to RSA employee representatives during a criminal investigation of sexual improprieties with female inmates.

According to the writ petition filed on July 8, 2004, during the County's investigation occurring in May and…