City and County of San Francisco v. State

In a case challenging the legality of an initiative enacted by California voters, does an organization created to defend the initiative have a sufficiently direct and immediate interest in the litigation to require that it be permitted to intervene under Code of Civil Procedure section 387, subdivision (a)? Here, one such organization, the Proposition 22 Legal Defense and Education Fund (Fund), argues the trial court erred in denying its motions to intervene in two cases, since consolidated, that challenge the applicability and constitutionality of Family Code sections defining marriage in California as between a man and a woman. (Fam. Code, §§ 300, 301, 308.5.) We conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the Fund’s motions for permissive intervention because the Fund has identified no direct or immediate effect that a judgment in the consolidated cases may have on it or its individual members. Although the Fund actively supports the Family Code statutes in question, its interest in upholding these laws is not sufficient to support intervention where there is no allegation the Fund or its members may suffer tangible harm from an adverse judgment.…