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Kern ordered to pay $1 million in sludge lawsuit fees

BY JAMES BURGER, Californian staff writer
jburger@bakersfield.com | Thursday, Sep 4 2008 12:27 PM

Last Updated: Thursday, Sep 4 2008 3:56 PM

The federal judge who ruled against Kern County in its legal duel with Los Angeles and Orange County over treated sewage sludge has dealt Kern another $1 million blow.

U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess has ruled Kern owes $1.08 million to lawyers for the private hauling and spreading firms that partnered with Los Angeles and Orange in the lawsuit.

One year ago today, Feess ruled Kern County’s ban on the land application of the southland’s treated sewage sludge, also referred to as “biosolids,” is trumped by state waste recycling rules and violates interstate commerce law.

He declared Measure E “null and void.”

Feess also ruled that the lawyers who won the case were entitled to fees from Kern County.

Those lawyers originally asked for $1.9 million, but in an earlier ruling Feess demanded detailed documentation justifying those fees.

He got it and, on Wednesday, awarded the attorneys for the five businesses that work with Los Angeles and Orange County a little more than half their request.

Kern County Assistant County Counsel Steve Schuett said he was glad Feess closely reviewed the lawyers’ bills.

“We’re just glad the judge was able to weed through the pile of bills and reduce the fees from the excessive amount they asked for,” he said.

Feess chastised the winning attorneys, stating “the hours spent by Individual Plaintiffs’ counsel in prosecuting this action were grossly excessive.”

He itemized $898,487 in questionable or excessive billing claimed by the Beveridge & Diamond and Bingham McCutchen law firms.

In one example, the Bingham and Beveridge firms documented 738.6 hours spent preparing the 29-page initial complaint launching the lawsuit.

Feess contrasted that to the 764.2 hours Kern County’s private attorney Michael Hogan spent “in total defending this case.”

Attorney James Slaughter of Beveridge & Diamond said his clients had no comment on the ruling.

A call to the office of Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Los Angeles and Orange County are not entitled to money from this award.

Kern County is appealing Feess’ initial ruling, which overturned Measure E, to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

“We can't rely on a hometown judge making a decision on behalf of hometown lawyers,” said Kern County Supervisor Don Maben. Schuett said the basis for the award was the hauling company lawyers’ win on the interstate commerce issue.

“If they don’t prevail on that in the 9th Circuit, then we don’t pay the attorney fees,” Schuett said.

However, the county may need to appeal Feess’ Wednesday award of attorney fees in order to avoid paying an immediate bill of $1.08 million.