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Priceline.com, Inc. v. City of Anaheim (Cal. Ct. App. - Jan. 5, 2010)

By Shaun Martin

Here's an extremely well-written opinion by Justice Ikola. Which holds that Anaheim can use contingency fee lawyers to go after Priceline for not collecting and paying transient occupancy taxes.

I'll not say much other than it's an opinion worth reading. Extremely balanced. Erudite. With a definite -- and unfavorable -- take on the principal case (Clancy) that says cities generally can't hire contingency fee lawyers, and yet distinguishing that case on the merits.

This is something you're more used to seeing a federal appellate court do than the Court of Appeal. Take a Supreme Court (here, a California Supreme Court) case and parse it out very carefully, rather than simply doing the very easy thing and going the same way as that opinion.

It's a good opinion. Not if you're an inveterate believer in Clancy, mind you -- if you're a "neutrality at all costs" person, you'd likely have a different view. But I think Justice Ikola strongly supports his view on this one. One that I found persuasive.

Well done.

Full post as published by California Appellate Report on January 07, 2010 (boomark / email).