Rivera

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Shirley Rivera worked for defendant County of Riverside (County).

After the County terminated her employment, she filed a petition for writ of mandate

1 under Code of Civil Procedure section 1085 alleging that her right to due process had

been violated because she had not been given notice of the termination and her right to

appeal the decision. The trial court agreed and issued a writ compelling the County to

provide her with an administrative hearing regarding the termination. We affirmed that

decision in Rivera v. County of Riverside (Aug. 3, 2011, E049282) [nonpub. opn.]

(Rivera I).

Following remand, Rivera moved to recover her attorney fees under Code of Civil

Procedure section 1021.5 (CCP 1021.5) and title 42 United States Code section 1988.

The trial court granted the motion on both grounds.

We reverse. Rivera is not entitled to recover attorney fees under CCP 1021.

because there is nothing in the record to support the conclusion that her action conferred

a significant benefit on the general public or a large group of people. Nor is she entitled

to recover fees under section 1988. Section 1988 provides for the recovery of…