Reasonably necessary attorney and paralegal time recoverable as costs of preparing the record of proceeding

In this case, the Fourth Appellate District allowed the County of San Diego to recover over $37,000 in costs for preparing an administrative record, including costs for reasonably necessary paralegal and attorney labor. Otay Ranch, L.P. et al., v. County of San Diego (Sept. 29, 2014), Case No. D064809.

The controversy in this case originates with the County of San Diego’s approval of a mitigated negative declaration for a remediation project at the former Otay Skeet and Trap Shooting Range (the project). Former owners of the shooting range, Otay Ranch, Sky Communities, and Sky Vista, filed a petition for writ of mandate challenging the county’s remediation project. The plaintiffs argued that an EIR was necessary and that the county’s remediation plan did not comply with the Health and Safety Code.

Petitioners elected to prepare the administrative record in this case. After a number of delays, petitioners and the County met to discuss the proposed CEQA record. The County indicated that the record, in its current state, was woefully inadequate. The record improperly included numerous files not related to the project while omitting many necessary, project-specific files. After this conference, the petitioners voluntarily dismissed their CEQA cause of action. They then filed an amended petition and continued to pursue their Health and Safety Code cause of action. But petitioners never filed an administrative record, so the County reclaimed responsibility for preparing the administrative record.

The County did not have the resources available to prepare the administrative record in the limited time available. It therefore employed the help of the outside law firm representing it in the litigation to prepare the record. County’s outside counsel and paralegals worked extended hours to prepare the record in time to file with the County’s opposition briefing. This work included 74 hours of attorney time and 67 hours of paralegal time. The final record included over 300 documents and 18,000 pages, spanning many years of project history—all for a challenged MND. Surprisingly, the day after the county filed and served the administrative record, petitioners dismissed their entire action.

The County subsequently filed a memorandum of costs seeking recovery of approximately $66,000 for preparation of the administrative record. Petitioners moved to tax the majority of these costs. They argued that attorney and paralegal hours could not be included in the cost award for preparation of the administrative record. The County responded that the costs represented the reasonably necessary labor costs of “persons with specialized knowledge,” which is a recoverable record cost. Both the trial court and appellate court agreed.

The County submitted compelling declarations that it was necessary for the attorney and paralegal to be actively involved in reviewing and organizing the record. The documents proposed to be included in the record were technically complex and resulted from a complicated and long procedural history. Specific knowledge and understanding of the project was necessary for the individuals recreating the record. Therefore, the hours spent by the attorney and paralegal were reasonably necessary to the preparation of an adequate administrative record. The trial court awarded $37,528 for record preparation costs, representing the County’s costs incurred after the date the County decided to prepare the administrative record itself. The appellate court found that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when reaching this outcome, so the trial court’s award stood.

Of note in this case, the appellate court dismissed two petitioners from the appeal. The court determined Otay Ranch lacked capacity to appeal because it was a cancelled limited partnership. The court was not convinced that the appeal was part of Otay Ranch’s “winding up” process since the partnership had been cancelled and had completed winding up its affairs well before the appeal. Likewise, Sky Communities lacked capacity to appeal because it was a suspended corporation. A suspended corporation may not prosecute or defend an action, nor appeal from an adverse judgment. Sky Communities insisted the defect was not fatal because the Franchise Tax Board could always revive the corporation, retroactively validating the earlier notice of appeal. But the court noted the Board had not yet issued a certificate of revivor and Sky Communities remained a suspended company lacking the capacity to appeal.

Analysis and Conclusion

The size and complexity of administrative records continues to grow, straining the resources of local governments. However, this case offers hope that at least some courts appreciate the burden of record costs in CEQA litigation. The Fourth Appellate District’s opinion recognizes that, for projects with lengthy procedural history or other technical aspects, specialized knowledge and the expertise of paralegals and attorneys may be required to produce a record sufficient for certification. This characterization is likely applicable to numerous CEQA records, which commonly span tens of thousands of pages as a result of increasingly strict rules created by the courts for CEQA records. Based on this case, local governments should carefully document time reasonably spent by staff and any necessary outside assistance on record preparation in the event these costs are recoverable.

This case also serves as an important reminder for both potential CEQA petitioners and real parties to maintain active partnership or corporate standing. Dissolved partnerships and inactive corporations cannot pursue CEQA litigation.