Tenants & Owners in Opposition to Redevelopment v. United States Department of Housing & Urban Development

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER DISMISSING THE MOTION OF PETITIONERS FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES

I. BACKGROUND OF THE LITIGATION:

In an effort to rehabilitate a blighted area within San Francisco, .application was made to the Federal government for loans and grants to redevelop the affected area. Defendant San Francisco Redevelopment Agency applied for the funds and played an integral role in planning the project. The Federal government provided the requested aid and defendant agency began to implement the redevelopment plan. On November 5, 1969 plaintiffs, a group of tenants and owners of property within the development area, filed a complaint seeking various relocation benefits and subsidies available to displaced persons. Plaintiffs were represented by San Francisco Neighborhood Legal Assistance Foundation (SFNLAF) although certain attorneys of the Foundation who represented plaintiffs later became associated with Public Advocates, Inc., a private law-firm, and others with the Legal Aid Society of Alameda County (LASAC). On April 30, 1970 a preliminary injunction issued against defendant San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and the United States Department of Housing and Urban…