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An attorney is suing Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Niguel for allegedly failing to reimburse her fees after sending separate letters claiming each city violated the California Voting Rights Act and forcing a switch to district elections.
Dana Point-based attorney Michelle Jackson says both cities haven’t paid her fees nearly a year after alleging a host of South Orange County cities were violating the California Voting Rights Act by not transitioning to district-based elections, claiming at-large voting disenfranchises minority voters.
In at-large elections, voters can vote for as many candidates as their council seats are up for grabs. For example, if three council seats are on the ballot, voters can pick three candidates.
In district elections, voters can only choose one candidate that resides in the voting district they live in. Many cities retain an at-large mayor, meaning every voter in town gets to weigh in on the mayor’s race.
Now, Jackson is suing the two cities over the alleged missing attorney fees.
The lawsuit against Rancho Santa Margarita was sent to the county clerk’s office on Aug. 7, while Laguna Niguel’s lawsuit came fourth months earlier in May.
It caught the eye of the local chapter of the ACLU, which says refusing to pay Jackson’s attorney fees could cost cities more in the long run.
Julia Gomez, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Southern California, sent a letter to the city clerk’s office in Rancho Santa Margarita in May about refusing to pay fees and violating provisions within the CVRA.
“The City has no legal authority to continue to deny payment and should immediately reimburse Ms. Jackson to avoid an unnecessary lawsuit and the waste of a substantial amount of taxpayer funds,” reads the letter.
Rancho Santa Margarita voted unanimously last October to switch from an at-large voting system to district elections, directly as a response to Jackson’s demand letter last July accusing the city of lacking fair representation for elected officials.
[Read: Rancho Santa Margarita Moves Forward With District Election Map]
In August 2023, the city released a statement announcing the switch to district elections, in which it reads “while transitioning to a district-based election system was not an existing goal for the City, on June 23, 2023, the City received a letter challenging its current election system.”
In a July city staff report, Rancho Santa Margarita city leaders were warned that “A city can reasonably expect the possibility of a court awarding the plaintiff a seven-figure ($1,000,000 or more) attorney fee award if it chooses to fight a CVRA lawsuit and is unsuccessful.”
In her letter, Gomez said that action means the city needs to pay her attorney fees.
“The Council was therefore aware before adopting the resolution of intent that the safe harbor imposes a mandatory duty on the City to reimburse Ms. Jackson,” Gomez said in an April letter to the Rancho Santa Margarita city clerk.
The city manager’s office for Rancho Santa Margarita did not respond to multiple calls from a Voice of OC reporter.
In the same letter, she highlighted that “it is further concerning that the City of Laguna Niguel is also now undermining the CVRA by taking the same approach of refusing to comply with the reimbursement provision.”
Jackson said Latinos in places like Rancho Santa Margarita don’t have representation in local government. The city’s home to 48,000 people based on the most recent Census data – over 10,000 residents are Latino or Hispanic, making up roughly 21% of the population.
She’s made similar allegations against San Clemente, Laguna Hills and Laguna Niguel.
“For me, this is ridiculous,” Jackson said in a phone interview.
She added that pushback often comes from elected officials who have been in office for decades and don’t want their seats endangered.
Jackson sent a reimbursement notice soon after municipalities approved district elections.
In order to comply with the CVRA, Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Niguel followed the “safe harbor” procedure which allows municipalities 45 days to repay the costs from the original demand.
Jackson added that fees for outside litigators – both hers and the cities’ – along with demographers and city attorneys already on the clock will come at the cost of taxpayers.
Why Withhold Attorney Fees?
In July, an attorney from Best Best & Krieger, LLP – contracted to represent the city of Laguna Niguel – objected to paying any attorney fees due to Jackson not giving the name of the client she’s representing.
It comes after city leaders adopted an ordinance in January to switch from at-large citywide elections to district elections, redrawing district maps for all five city council positions.
Laguna Niguel’s City Manager’s office did not respond to request for comment when asked about the lawsuit by a Voice of OC reporter last Monday.
But Jackson and her attorney, Carlos Perez, argue there is legal precedent for withholding the plaintiff’s name – saying revealing their identity could put them in jeopardy.
In previous district elections lawsuits against other Orange County cities, the plaintiff’s name is attached to the suit.
In a phone interview, Gomez from the ACLU said Laguna Niguel is trying to deter residents and attorneys from pursuing voting rights lawsuits in other cities.
“The point of the ‘safe harbor’ is to give lawyers and voters confidence in being able to hire someone essentially pro-bono and be reimbursed by the city,” she said.
Under the CVRA’s “safe harbor” procedure, lawyer fees are capped at roughly $30,000. But this only accounts for Jackson’s fees, not including paying her demographer and the city’s outside litigator’s fees.
Gomez added that it’s concerning that both Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Niguel have chosen to delay payments for “meritless reasons,” especially since there’s already little incentive for attorneys.
“But if a city is refusing their end of the bargain, then it’s crucial that voters see an issue as it means the city choosing not to abide by the law,” Gomez said in a phone interview.
Jackson, the attorney who sent the initial demand letters, criticized Laguna Niguel and Rancho Santa Margarita for potentially costing taxpayers more money than if they paid the initial attorney fees.
“It’s not fiscally conservative. I think it’s stupid.”
Hugo Rios is a Voice of OC reporting fellow. Contact him at hugo.toni.rios@gmail.com or on Twitter @hugoriosss.
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