CASE UPDATE: Court Affirms Reduced Attorneys’ Fees Award in CEQA Case Involving MND For Community Center..

In Save Our Uniquely Rural Community Environment v. County San Bernardino, (2015) 235 Cal.App.4^th 1179, the trial court granted an environmental group’s petition for a writ of mandate concerning  a proposed community center and mosque, for which the county planning board had adopted a mitigated negative declaration (MND) and issued a conditional use permit (CUP), and the court ordered the MND and CUP be set aside solely for purposes of obtaining further CEQA review on the single issue of waste water treatment. 

The trial court then granted petitioner’s motion for attorney’s fees as the prevailing party, but in an amount far less than petitioner requested, and petitioner appealed the amount of the award.  The court of appeal affirmed, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion, given that petitioner’s success was limited to setting aside the MND and CUP solely for purposes of obtaining further CEQA review on a single issue, and that the motion for fees  petitioner’s motion for fees assumed that all of the hours expended were justified without making a specific showing.

©2015 Miles J. Dolinger. This article is not intended to and does not constitute legal advice or a solicitation for the formation of an attorney-client relationship.

• About
• Latest Posts

Miles Dolinger

Miles Dolinger epresents individual, business and public agency clients in a wide range of real estate, land use, and public law matters (transactional and litigation). His office is currently location in Capitola, CA and serves clients in Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Clara Counties.

Latest posts by Miles Dolinger (see all)

• Homeowners’ Claims Alleging Construction Defects Resulting In Property Damage Are Subject To The Right To Repair Act’s Prelitigation Procedures Regardless Of How The Claims Are Pleaded. - May 2, 2018
• Prescriptive Easement Allegations Indicating That The Plaintiff’s Use Of A Road For Primary Residential Use Was More Expansive Than The Restrictive, Emergency And Secondary Access Use Language Contained In Original Recorded Easement Grant Was Sufficiently “Adverse” To Survive A Demurrer. - May 2, 2018
• California Supreme Court Holds That Landowners Forfeited Their Right to Bring A Lawsuit Challenging Coastal Development Permit Conditions Imposed By The Coastal Commission By Accepting The Permit And Constructing The Project. - November 5, 2017