Riverwatch v. County of San Diego Dep't of Envtl. Health, No. D049216

Trial court judgment awarding plaintiffs attorney's fees pursuant to the private attorney general doctrine set forth in Code of Civil Procedure sec. 1021.5 is affirmed where: 1) the litigation initiated by plaintiffs satisfied the necessity and financial burden requirements of the statute; 2) court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the litigation conferred a significant benefit to the environment and thus to the public at large; and 3) the court did not err in finding that although it had not granted the petition in all respects, plaintiffs prevailed on three significant issues and were therefore successful within the meaning of the statute.    

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Appellate Information
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Michael M. Anello, Judge. Affirmed.
FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT, DIVISION ONE
Filed June 12, 2009
Published July 2, 2009

Judges
Before: HUFFMAN, Acting P.J., HALLER, J., AARON, J.
Opinion by HUFFMAN, Acting P.J.

Counsel
For Appellant: Allen, Matkins, Leck, Gamble & Natsis, Patrick E. Breen, Mark J. Hattam, and Kathryn D. Horning.

For Respondent: Everett L. DeLano.