Pasadena Police Officers Assoc. v. City of Pasadena, Los Angeles Times
After the Los Angeles Times filed a California Public Records Act (“CPRA”) request for a report regarding an officer-involved shooting, the police officers’ union filed a reverse-CPRA lawsuit to prevent the release of the report. Despite obtaining the release of almost the entirety of the report, the Times was awarded only a fraction of its attorneys’ fees. The newspaper appealed to the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District. RCFP, CNPA, and 14 other media organizations argued that reverse-CPRA lawsuits are contrary to both the language and intent of the CPRA and undermine the CPRA’s fundamental purpose to provide public access to government records. However, even assuming that reverse-CPRA actions should be permitted in certain circumstances, requesters must be afforded the same protections in reverse-CPRA actions that they are entitled to in any other action brought under the CPRA. This includes the right to recover the entirety of their reasonable attorneys’ fees when the requester prevails.