Marine Forests Society v. California Coastal Commission

At issue in this appeal is whether Marine Forests Society (Marine Forests) qualifies for an award of attorney fees pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5 (hereafter section 1021.5), which entitles a “successful” litigant to such an award when its lawsuit “resulted in the enforcement of an important right affecting the public” and, among other things, “a significant benefit, whether pecuniary or nonpecuniary, has been conferred on the general public or a large class of persons.” Even without a favorable judicial resolution, the plaintiff is considered a “successful” litigant for purposes of section 1021.5 if the lawsuit was the “catalyst” that caused “the defendant [to] change[] its behavior substantially because of, and in the manner sought by, the litigation.” (Graham v. DaimlerChrysler Corp. (2004) 34 Cal.4th 553, 560 [ 21 Cal.Rptr.3d 331 , 101 P.3d 140 ] (hereafter Graham).)

But for this lawsuit filed by Marine Forests, the California Coastal Commission (Commission) would be operating as it had since its creation. The authority of the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly to not only appoint a majority of the Commission’s voting members…