Sederquist v. Court

861 F.2d 554 David N. SEDERQUIST, Marilyn T. Sederquist, Frank Gariffo, Marie Gariffo, J.W. Schuchardt, Warren W. Robinson, Edith Robinson, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Arthur COURT, Annette Court, Walter I. Thurman, Apula Thurman, Louie A. Gerdine, Edith C. Gerdine, Defendants-Appellees. No. 87-2806. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Sept. 16, 1988. Decided Nov. 14, 1988. Robert G. Schuchardt, San Francisco, Cal., for plaintiffs-appellants. Richard T. Tarrant and Lucy E. Bettis, San Francisco, Cal., for defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Before SNEED, CANBY and TROTT, Circuit Judges. SNEED, Circuit Judge: 1 Plaintiffs appeal the district court's dismissal of their suit to recover attorneys' fees under a substantial benefit theory for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. We affirm. I. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW 2 This is the third visit to this court of litigation that has gone on for about fifteen years. See Sederquist v. City of Tiburon, 765 F.2d 756 (9th Cir.1984); Sederquist v. City of Tiburon, 590 F.2d 278 (9th Cir.1978). The plaintiffs and defendants own lots in the…