Cates

In 2003, Candace Cates brought a taxpayer action against several defendants, including the California Gambling Control Commission (Commission) and California’s State Controller (Controller), alleging these entities had failed to discharge their mandatory statutory duties to collect money derived from gambling owed to the state by various Indian tribes. After Cates engaged in independent investigation and discovery and the court ruled on numerous motions, the trial court granted summary judgment in defendants’ favor.

*797 In 2007, this court reversed the summary judgment, finding defendants did not show they complied with their mandatory duties to collect the portion of gambling revenue owed to the state. (Cates v. California Gambling Control Com. (2007) 154 Cal.App.4th 1302 [ 65 Cal.Rptr.3d 513 ] (Cates I).) In reaching our conclusions, we found “troubling” the commissioners’ testimony showing the Commission was not conducting the necessary oversight to determine whether delinquencies existed under the applicable standards. (Id. at p. 1311.) We stated that it “appears from the evidence” the Commission is “simply verifying the accuracy of [the tribes’] mathematical…