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Bloomberg Quotes Josephine Petrick on Uncertain Future for California’s Taxpayer Standing
Bloomberg quoted Norton Law Firm partner Josephine Petrick in a November 10 article discussing the future of taxpayer standing in California law.
On November 6, the California Supreme Court issued a ruling that curtails state taxpayers’ ability to bring lawsuits that typically challenge the constitutionality of laws and state government spending.
California courts have long allowed taxpayers to bring legal challenges without showing they are personally harmed by a policy or action—simply being a California taxpayer is enough.
However, the state’s high court justices found that California’s Code of Civil Procedure § 526a, as amended in 2018, doesn’t allow taxpayers to automatically bring suits against the state and its leaders. The justices found it only permits these cases against local government entities.
Several cases relying on taxpayer standing are pending before the state’s top court and the ruling leaves their future and taxpayer standing uncertain.
Petrick, who is a California State Bar-certified appellate specialist and complex litigator, told Bloomberg that one path forward while taxpayer standing under common law remains unclear may be naming as defendants local officials or localities who are following the letter of a new state law that plaintiffs seek to challenge.
But Petrick added that “if the only option were to file suit against state officials tasked with enforcing this law, which is typically the case, I would find somebody who is actually affected by the statute, whether it’s actual enforcement or fear of imminent enforcement.” Read the full Bloomberg article here: “Supreme Court Ruling Leaves Taxpayer Standing in Flux.”