Los Angeles Times v. Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority

Summary

The Los Angeles Times (the Times) appeals from an order denying its motion for attorney fees incurred in its suit against the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (Authority) to obtain copies of two documents under the California Public Records Act. The Authority moves to dismiss the appeal on the ground that the attorney fee order is reviewable only by extraordinary writ. On the merits, the Authority argues that the motion for attorney fees was untimely and that the Times did not prevail in the litigation, principally because it did not obtain all the documents it sought. We conclude the order is appealable, and the trial court erred in refusing to award attorney fees.

Factual and Procedural Background

The Times filed a petition for a writ of mandate, seeking access to several documents from the Authority under the California Public Records Act. (Gov. Code § 6250 et seq.) The documents were (1) an audit report prepared by the Long Beach City Auditor concerning financial transactions by the former chief financial officer of the Authority, and (2) certain “narrative documents” and an “attached report” referred to in the publicly released portions of a risk…