Last year, LAAC filed an amicus letter, urging review of a lower decision of Conservatorship of Whitley that found a non-pecuniary interest in the outcome of a case (here the litigant's love of her brother) outweighed other factors in awarding attorney's fees in a private attorney general case.

LAAC wrote in its letter, "If the decision of the Court of Appeal stands, prospective attorneys will hesitate to take on cases if attorney’s fees will be denied simply because the client cares too much about the case. "

The California Supreme Court agreed and, in the opinion written by J. Moreno, stated, "We conclude that a litigant‘s personal nonpecuniary motives may not be used to disqualify that litigant from obtaining fees under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5."

To see the entire opinion, please see:  http://www.metnews.com/sos.cgi?1110%2FS175855