REMEDIES FOR UNFAIR PRACTICES; MISCELLANEOUS REMEDIAL PROVISIONS – Attorneys Fees and Costs
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1205.04000 – Attorneys Fees and Costs
A party seeking an award of attorney fees or other litigation expenses based on legal work performed in that case normally must meet a standard akin to that under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, showing that its opponent pursued a frivolous argument in bad faith. (Sacramento City Unified School District (2020) PERB Decision No. 2749, p. 11 (Sacramento City USD).) In contrast, for a charging party to obtain an award based on some or all of the cost of bargaining or otherwise representing employees, it need only show by a preponderance of the evidence that the offending party’s conduct caused a harm and that it is reasonably feasible to estimate the financial impact. (City of Palo Alto (2019) PERB Decision No. 2664-M, p. 8, fn. 6; see also Alliance Judy Ivie Burton Technology Academy High et al. (2022) PERB Decision No. 2809, pp. 14, 31-32 [judicial appeal pending]; Oxnard Union High School District (2022) PERB Decision No. 2803, p. 3; County of Santa Clara (2021) PERB Decision No. 2799-M, p. 28, fn. 14; Sacramento City USD, supra, p. 2749, p. 15; City and County of San Francisco (2020) PERB Decision No. 2691-M, p. 51, fn. 32.) (p. 15.)