Lindelli et al. v. Town of San Anselmo
Filed 5/26/06
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION FIVE
SUZANNE N. LINDELLI et al., Plaintiffs and Respondents, v. TOWN OF SAN ANSELMO et al., Defendants and Respondents,
MARIN SANITARY SERVICE, Real Party in Interest and Respondent,
REMCHO, JOHANSEN & PURCELL, Movant and Appellant. |
A108886
(Marin County Super. Ct. No. CV025233) |
The issue presented is whether attorneys acting on their own behalf can intervene in a client's lawsuit and move for attorney fees under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5, which provides for fee awards in cases resulting in the enforcement of important rights affecting the public interest. In Lindelli v. Town of San Anselmo (2003) 111 Cal.App.4th 1099 (Lindelli I), we held that the Town of San Anselmo violated the stay provisions of Elections Code section 9241 in awarding an interim contract for waste management services to Marin Sanitary Service notwithstanding the fact that an earlier ordinance awarding a contract for such services to Marin Sanitary Service was the subject of an upcoming referendum election. The case returns because on remand, the successful petitioners, Suzanne N. Lindelli and North Bay Corporation, declined to authorize their attorneys, Remcho, Johansen & Purcell (RJP), to file a motion for an award of attorney fees under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5.[1] Thereafter, RJP sought leave to intervene to file a motion for attorney fees on their own behalf. The trial court denied RJP's motion.
Resolution of the issue presented is directed by Flannery v. Prentice (2001) 26 Cal.4th 572 (Flannery). In Flannery, the California Supreme Court held that, absent an agreement allocating fee awards to the client, fees awarded under the Fair Employment and Housing Act â€
