Independent Living Center of Southern California v. Kent, No. 15-56142 (9th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's denial of plaintiffs' request for attorneys' fees after a settlement regarding California’s Assembly Bill X3 5. The panel held that the district court erroneously concluded that plaintiffs were not entitled to seek fees pursuant to California Civil Procedure Code 1021.5, and that the district court abused its discretion in denying Independent Living's motion to set aside fees from the retroactive monetary relief obtained in 2010. Therefore, the panel remanded for the district court to determine whether plaintiffs met the requirements to obtain attorneys' fees under section 1021.5 and Section III (C)(1)(a) and (b) of the Settlement Agreement, and whether it was possible and appropriate to recoup attorney's fees from Medicaid providers.
Court Description: Attorneys’ Fees. The panel reversed the district court’s denial of plaintiffs’ request for attorneys’ fees following the settlement of litigation concerning California’s Assembly Bill X3 5, which reduced the Medi-Cal rate of reimbursement for healthcare providers by ten percent. Plaintiffs sought a writ of mandamus under Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 1085 on the ground that AB 5 violated Section 30(A) of the Medicaid Act, thereby conflicting with federal law and violating the Supremacy Clause. The Ninth Circuit upheld the district court’s preliminary injunction against enforcement of the ten percent reduction, to apply both prospectively and retroactively. The Supreme Court vacated and remanded in light of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ approval of certain plan amendments to implement AB 5. The parties subsequently entered into a settlement agreement in which plaintiffs reserved the right to move for attorneys’ fees. Plaintiffs did so pursuant to Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 1021.5, and the district court denied their motions. The panel held that, even though the case was properly removed from state court based on federal question jurisdiction, plaintiffs brought a state-law claim and were therefore permitted to seek attorneys’ fees pursuant to § 1021.5. The panel concluded that plaintiffs’ § 1085 Writ
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