A press release from the city of San Juan Capistrano
On February 18th, Judge Franz E. Miller awarded the Capistrano Taxpayer’s Association (“CTA”) attorney fees for its recent water rate lawsuit against the City. CTA originally requested $422,120.00 in fees from City’s ratepayers, seeking the equivalent of $800.00 per hour (a $400.00 per hour rate with a 2.0 multiplier) for its work on the case.
After considering the City’s opposition, the Judge declined to award CTA that amount and instead awarded a little over one-half, i.e., the reduced sum of $237,242.00. The City appealed the underlying judgment on September
6, 2013. The City maintains that the underlying judgment ought to be reversed and that CTA therefore ultimately should not receive any fee award.
No decision has been made on whether to appeal the decision on the fee award itself.
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