Vargas

Plaintiffs Angelina Morfin Vargas and Mark Dierolf sued defendants City of Salinas and city manager, David Mora (collectively City), for alleged misuse of public funds. The suit was dismissed as a SLAPP 1 under Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16, the so-called anti-SLAPP law. 2 The ensuing judgment was affirmed by this court and by the Supreme Court. (Vargas v. City of Salinas (2009) 46 Cal.4th 1 [ 92 Cal.Rptr.3d 286 , 205 P.3d 207 ] (Vargas I).) Plaintiffs now appeal from postjudgment attorney fees orders.

Plaintiffs moved for attorney fees under section 1021.5, the private attorney general statute. Even though they lost on the merits, plaintiffs argued that their action was brought in the public interest and, since the Supreme Court had agreed with their legal analysis, they were “successful” for purposes of section 1021.5. City moved for attorney fees under section 425.16, subdivision (c), which provides for a mandatory award of attorney fees to a defendant prevailing on an anti-SLAPP motion. 3 Plaintiffs opposed City’s *1337 motion on the ground that an award of attorney fees to a government defendant unconstitutionally chills the right of petition absent a…