BILL NUMBER: AB 940	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Committee on Judiciary (Feuer (Chair), Brownley,
Evans, Jones, Krekorian, Lieu, and Monning)

                        FEBRUARY 26, 2009

   An act to amend Section 1021.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure,
relating to attorney's fees.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 940, as introduced, Committee on Judiciary. Civil litigation:
attorney's fees: public interest.
   Existing law allows a court, upon motion, to award attorney's fees
to a successful party against one or more opposing parties in any
action that has resulted in the enforcement of an important right
affecting the public interest, if certain conditions are met.
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these
provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 1021.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure is
amended to read:
   1021.5.  Upon motion, a court may award  attorneys'
  attorney's  fees to a successful party against
one or more opposing parties in any action  which 
 that  has resulted in the enforcement of an important right
affecting the public interest if: (a) a significant benefit, whether
pecuniary or nonpecuniary, has been conferred on the general public
or a large class of persons, (b) the necessity and financial burden
of private enforcement, or of enforcement by one public entity
against another public entity, are such as to make the award
appropriate, and (c)  such   those  fees
should not in the interest of justice be paid out of the recovery, if
any. With respect to actions involving public entities, this section
applies to allowances against, but not in favor of, public entities,
and no claim shall be required to be filed  therefor,
  in such an action,  unless one or more successful
parties and one or more opposing parties are public entities, in
which case no claim shall be required to be filed therefor under Part
3 (commencing with Section 900) of Division 3.6 of Title 1 of the
Government Code. 
   Attorneys' 
    Attorney's  fees awarded to a public entity pursuant to
this section shall not be increased or decreased by a multiplier
based upon extrinsic circumstances, as discussed in Serrano v.
Priest, 20 Cal. 3d 25, 49.