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Kira T. Conlon is a partner in the Real Estate, Energy, Land Use & Environmental Practice Group in the firm's Los Angeles office.

In Donald A. Norberg v. California Coastal Commission (4th Dist., Div. 3, 10/25/13, G047522) ___Cal.App.4th___, 2013, the court of appeal reversed the trial court’s award of private attorney general fees because the homeowner’s successful challenge of certain conditions imposed by the California Coastal Commission with respect to proposed improvements to his home did not confer a public benefit warranting an award of private attorney general fees. Norberg’s successful challenge benefited Norberg and no one else; and the possibility that his successful lawsuit might convey a cautionary message to the Commission about its conduct, or that it might cause the Commission to change its practices in the future, was insufficient to satisfy the significant public benefit requirement.
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