In Sweetwater Union High School District v. Julian Union Elementary School District, ordered published June 28, 2019, the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 1, affirmed an award of fees to the plaintiff school district under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5. The plaintiff district alleged that the defendant district authorized a defendant charter school operator to operate defendant charter schools in the plaintiff's territory. The trial court ultimately denied the plaintiff's petition for a writ of mandate directing the defendant district to revoke the defendant operator's charter, concluding that doing so would cause disruption for students of the charter schools. But the trial court declared that the operator's operation at two of the charter school locations would be in violation of the Education Code, and enjoined operation of both locations. The court then granted the plaintiff district's motion for attorney fees.
The appellate court affirmed the award of fees. The parties did not request a statement of decision concerning the fee award, and the court did not issue one. The appellate court therefore inferred all findings necessary to support the award were made. The appellate court ruled that the trial court could have found the plaintiff district to be a prevailing party. Even though the district did not succeed on all of its claims, it succeeded in obtaining declaratory and injunctive relief. It could also have ruled that enforcement of charter school law was enforcement of an important right affecting public interest, that the ruling provided a significant public benefit by advancing the public interest in lawful operation of charter schools and the legislature's oversight objectives expressed in the charter school law, that the lawsuit was necessary to enforce the law, and that the financial burden made the fee award appropriate. It could also have found that the amount awarded (the entire amount requested) was justified by the evidence the plaintiff district submitted.
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