Sandlin v. McLaughlin

• Decision Date: 19 May 2020
• Docket Number: Consol. w/ G057420,G057264
• Citation: 50 Cal.App.5th 805,263 Cal.Rptr.3d 874
• Parties: Bill SANDLIN, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Molly MCLAUGHLIN et al., Defendant and Respondent; Frank McGill et al., Real Parties in Interest and Appellants.
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

50 Cal.App.5th 805

263 Cal.Rptr.3d 874

Bill SANDLIN, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. Molly MCLAUGHLIN et al., Defendant and Respondent;Frank McGill et al., Real Parties in Interest and Appellants.

G057264

Consol. w/ G057420

Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 3, California.

Filed May 19, 2020

As Modified on Denial of Rehearing June 17, 2020

Kenneth D. Agran and Lawrence A. Agran for Real Parties in Interest and Appellants.

Mark S. Rosen, Santa Ana, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

ARONSON, ACTING P. J.

Petitioner Bill Sandlin filed a petition for writ of mandate challenging the candidate statements submitted by Real Parties in Interest Ed Pope, Jaci Woods, and Frank McGill (Real Parties) in their candidacy for positions on the Irvine City Council. Petitioner alleged Real Parties' candidate statements would mislead voters about the current city council's actions and the facts concerning a referendum to relocate the site of a planned state veterans cemetery. Real Parties opposed the petition and filed a special motion to strike under the anti-SLAPP statute ( Code Civ. Proc., § 425.16¹ ).

While Real Parties' anti-SLAPP motion was pending, the trial court denied the writ petition in its entirety, finding Petitioner's challenge to Pope's candidate statement was untimely, and finding he failed to establish Woods's or McGill's candidate statements were false, misleading, or otherwise barred by the Elections Code. The court then denied Real Parties' anti-SLAPP motion as moot, and further found it was barred by the public interest litigation exemption to the anti-SLAPP statute ( § 425.17, subd. (b) ). Real Parties filed a motion for attorney fees under the private attorney general statute ( § 1021.5 ). The court denied this motion as well. Real Parties appeal the trial court's denial of their anti-SLAPP motion and its denial of their section 1021.5 fees motion.

After reviewing their anti-SLAPP motion de novo, we conclude the motion was not moot, the public interest litigation exemption is inapplicable, and the motion should have been granted. On remand, Real Parties should recover reasonable attorney fees incurred in bringing the anti-SLAPP motion ( § 425.16, subd. (c)(1) ).

As for Real Parties' fees motion under section 1021.5, we conclude the trial court erred in finding Real Parties' successful defense against the petition did not result in the "enforcement of an important right affecting the public interest" or confer "a significant benefit" on Irvine voters. We therefore remand this matter for further consideration of the remaining elements of section 1021.5.

I. FACTS

A. Plans for the Southern California Veterans Cemetery

In 2002, Orange County voted to create an urban regional park, now known as the Orange County Great Park, on the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. The City of Irvine annexed the property, which was estimated to be over 1,100 acres, for the creation of the Great Park.

The City later acquired an additional 130 acres (the ARDA site)² and offered that portion of the property to the State of California for the creation of a state veterans cemetery. In 2014, the Legislature unanimously adopted a bill designating the ARDA site as the future location of the Southern California Veterans Cemetery. (See Assem. Bill No. 1453.)

Three years later, the Irvine City Council decided to explore a land swap that would involve rezoning the ARDA site for commercial and industrial purposes and relocating the planned veterans cemetery to a different location at the interchange of the 5 and 405 freeways. Irvine residents launched a referendum drive opposing the land swap, gathered over 19,000 signatures, and forced a referendum to relocate the cemetery onto the June 2018 ballot (Measure B).

The parties to this litigation disagreed on whether Measure B was a good idea, falling on opposite sides of the debate. Petitioner, a registered voter and resident of Irvine, was a prominent supporter of Measure B and a leader in the "Yes on B" campaign, while Real Parties opposed Measure B.

Real Party Pope chaired a grassroots campaign against the land swap, with significant participation from Real Parties Woods and McGill, among others. The goals of their "No on B" campaign were to prevent the commercial development of the ARDA site and have the veterans cemetery built there as originally planned. In anticipation of the June election, Pope authored the ballot argument and rebuttal argument against Measure B, in which he described the ARDA site as "construction ready" and "in the Great Park."

B. The Referendum Case

Petitioner filed a petition for writ of mandate (the Referendum Case) against the Orange County Registrar of Voters and the Irvine City Clerk, challenging the proposed ballot arguments against Measure B as false and misleading. His petition identified Pope as one of several real parties in interest.

The trial court in the Referendum Case partially granted the petition and entered a judgment to that effect in April 2018. Among other findings, the court held the ballot arguments referring to the ARDA site as "construction ready" and "in the Great Park" were false and misleading.

C. Real Parties' Candidate Statements

In the June 2018 election, nearly 46,000 Irvine voters weighed in on Measure B, and about 63 percent rejected the proposed land swap. The following month, a member of the Irvine City Council introduced a motion to direct city staff to begin the building process at the ARDA site. Irvine's mayor and two other councilmembers, however, supported a substitute motion to further study the ARDA site and other issues related to the cemetery.

Frustrated by the council majority's apparent unwillingness to move forward with construction of the cemetery at the ARDA site, Pope filed to run for mayor in the November 2018 election, and Woods and McGill filed to run for two open city council seats. All three candidates submitted brief statements for inclusion in the official voter pamphlet. (See Elec. Code, § 13307 [permitting candidate for nonpartisan city elective office to submit statement including her name, age, occupation, and brief description of her education and qualifications].)

Those candidate statements are the crux of the present action. Although they varied in some respects, each statement discussed the veterans cemetery, the voters' rejection of Measure B, and the city council's response. Each candidate statement also described the cemetery as being either "in " or "at the Great Park" and expressed plans to "immediately " begin construction if elected. (Italics added.)³

D. Procedural History

In August 2018, Petitioner filed a second petition for writ of mandate against the Orange County Registrar of Voters and the Irvine City Clerk under Elections Code section 13313, which authorizes a trial court to issue a "peremptory writ of mandate ... upon clear and convincing proof that the [candidate statement] is false, misleading, or inconsistent with the requirements of this chapter." He alleged the portions of Real Parties' candidate statements italicized in the above footnote are false, misleading, and inconsistent with the Elections Code, and sought the deletion of those italicized portions.

Petitioner based his writ petition in part on the April 2018 judgment in the Referendum Case, in which a different judge had found the ballot arguments against Measure B referring to the ARDA site as "construction ready" and "in the Great Park" were false and misleading. According to Petitioner, Real Parties' candidate statements were likewise false and misleading because they incorrectly described the cemetery as being "in the Great Park" and expressed plans to "immediately " begin construction if elected. His petition also attacked the candidate statements' descriptions of the referendum and the city council's conduct as false and misleading, and further alleged the candidate statements improperly referenced other candidates in violation of Elections Code section 13308, which provides candidate statements "shall not in any way make reference to other candidates for that office or to another candidate's qualifications, character, or activities."

Real Parties filed an anti-SLAPP motion to strike the petition, contending their candidate statements were protected political speech and explaining why Petitioner could not prevail on the merits. Real Parties also sought their attorney fees under the anti-SLAPP statute.

While Real Parties' anti-SLAPP motion was pending, the trial court denied Petitioner's writ petition in its entirety. In a two-page minute order, the court found Petitioner's challenge to Pope's candidate statement was untimely, and also found Petitioner failed to present clear and convincing evidence that Woods's or McGill's candidate statements were false or misleading or attacked an opponent running for the same office. Petitioner did not appeal this ruling.

Several months later, the trial court heard and denied Real Parties' anti-SLAPP motion as moot, reasoning its denial of the writ petition resolved all issues between the parties and deprived the court of jurisdiction. The court further found that even if it had jurisdiction, it would deny the motion under the public interest litigation exemption to the anti-SLAPP statute ( § 425.17, subd. (b) ).

Real Parties then filed a motion for attorney fees under the private attorney general statute ( § 1021.5 ), which allows a court to award attorney fees to a party who successfully enforces "an important right affecting the public interest" in certain circumstances. They sought over $86,000 in fees. The trial court denied their motion, finding Real Parties did not meet their burden of establishing their successful defense against the petition enforced an important right affecting the general public or resulted in a significant benefit to the public.

Real Parties appealed from both the trial court's order denying their anti-SLAPP motion and its order denying their section 1021.5 ...