Southern California Gas Co. v. City of Santa Ana

PER CURIAM Opinion; Concurrence by Judge THOMAS.

OPINION

The City of Santa Ana appeals an order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of the Southern California Gas Company. The district court held that the City’s trench cut fee could not be constitutionally applied to the Gas Company, because such an application would violate the Contracts Clause of the federal constitution. See U.S. Const. art. I, § 10, el. 1. We affirm the district court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of the Gas Company, and adopt the district court’s opinion, Southern California Gas v. City of Santa Ana, 202 F.Supp.2d 1129 (C.D.Cal.2002), as our own. See Appendix infra.

We also affirm the district court’s award of attorney’s fees in favor of the Gas Company pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988 . We reject the City’s argument that the Gas Company was not a “prevailing party” pursuant to section 1988.

A prevailing party in a section 1983 action is eligible for an award of attorney’s fees under section 1988. See 42 U.S.C. § 1988 (b). The Gas Company’s complaint specifically stated that its Contracts Clause claim was “brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and related California *887 law.”…

concurring:

I concur in the judgment. However, I would affirm the district court on narrower grounds.

I agree that, under the circumstances presented by this case, the franchise agreement between the City of Santa Ana (“City”) and Southern California Gas Company (“Gas Company”) functions as a contract. I also agree that the City was prohibited from using its police power to alter unilaterally the terms of the contract. Thus, the question is whether the trench ordinance impairs the contract, and does so in a manner that violates the Contract Clause. U.S. Const., art. I, § 10.

To prove a violation of the Contracts Clause, the Gas Company must show that the City has substantially impaired the franchise agreement. “This inquiry has three components: whether there is a contractual relationship, whether a change in law impairs that contractual relationship, and whether the impairment is substantial.” Gen. Motors Corp. v. Romein, 503 U.S. 181, 186 , 112 S.Ct. 1105 , 117 L.Ed.2d 328 (1992). If the trench cut ordinance does substantially impair the franchise agreement, the burden shifts to the City to show that the statute is “both reasonable and necessary to fulfill an important public…