People Ex Rel. Brown v. Tehama County Board of Supervisors

In this action, the People of the State of California, acting through the Attorney General, succeeded in obtaining an injunction requiring the Tehama County Board of Supervisors to apply the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act (Gov. Code, § 66410 et seq.) to a lot line adjustment on property owned by defendant KAKE, LLC (KAKE). The trial court then awarded the Attorney General $173,450 in attorney fees against the county defendants under section 1021.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which is the codification of the private attorney general doctrine of attorney fee recovery.

On appeal from the judgment, KAKE and the county defendants contend the lot line adjustment was exempt from the Subdivision Map Act because it did not create a greater number of parcels than previously existed, and the trial court erred in concluding otherwise.

On appeal from the award of attorney fees, the county defendants and the People both contend the trial court erred in basing its award under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5 on the conduct of the county defendants’ former attorney during the litigation. We agree. We also agree with the county defendants, however, that where (as here)…