Cop Union Is a Private AG Too

Indio Police Command Unit Assoc. v. City of Indio, No. G050051 (D4d3 Oct. 9, 2014)

The court here upholds an attorneys’ fee award under the private attorney general doctrine. See Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1021.5. Plaintiffs—a police officers’ union—sued to enforce a statutory collective bargaining right. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that that right was an important right affecting the public interest, which is the factual predicate to awarding fees under the doctrine. Similarly, the court did not err in finding that the other two elements of the doctrine—that the litigation convey a significant benefit on the general public or a large class of persons, and that there are financial burdens that disincentivize private enforcement—were satisfied.

Affirmed.