Downen's, Inc. v. City of Hawaiian Gardens Redevelopment Agency

Opinion

GILBERT, P. J.

A government agency pays only a portion of a judgment against it for inverse condemnation. In this case of first impression, we hold that Code of Civil Procedure section 1036 1 authorizes litigation expenses to the prevailing plaintiff in an action to enforce the inverse condemnation judgment under Government Code section 970 et seq. We therefore reverse the trial court’s decision to tax costs and remand with directions to award litigation expenses.

Facts

Appellants Downen’s, Inc., and Mary and Dave Downen (Downens) owned and operated Lakewood Suzuki, an automobile…