TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Sheryl Bratton, County Counsel
REPORT BY: Sherri Kaiser, Chief Deputy County Counsel
SUBJECT: Amendment No. 5 to Agreement No. 210364B with Renne Public Law Group
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve and authorize Amendment No. 5 to Agreement No. 210364B with Renne Public Law Group (RPLG) to increase maximum compensation for fiscal year 2023-2024 only, after which the maximum compensation will revert to $800,000 per fiscal year, for the provision of legal services related to wage and hour requirements, code enforcement, juvenile dependency appeals, and other matters as agreed; and approve a Budget Amendment, increasing County Counsel-Legal Services appropriations by $1,155,000 offset by use of Appropriation for Contingency. (Fiscal impact: $1,155,000 expense; General Fund; Not Budgeted; Discretionary.)
[4/5 vote required]
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BACKGROUND
Since 2018, Renne Public Law Group (RPLG) has provided specialized legal services to the County in the areas of land use, labor and employment, juvenile dependency, constitutional, and general government law. RPLG also has significant experience in civil litigation and has ably represented the County in three previous lawsuits. Currently, RPLG represents the County in Napa County v. Hoopes Family Winery, LLC, et al., and the related cross-action, Napa County Sup. Ct. Case No. 22CV001262 (Hoopes) and another, smaller litigation matter. On November 28, 2023, the fourth amendment to the legal services agreement with RPLG, Agreement No. 210364B, increased the maximum compensation available under the agreement from $275,000 per fiscal year to $800,000 per fiscal year. County Counsel now recommends approval of a fifth amendment to increase the maximum compensation to $1,500,000, for fiscal year 2023-2024 only, to fully fund the cost of representation in these two matters through June 30. On July 1, 2024, the maximum compensation would revert to $800,000 per fiscal year.
This temporary increase is necessary largely because Hoopes has been extremely active. To date, the Hoopes defendants have filed no fewer than 24 motions and ex parte applications, not counting their many letter briefs to a discovery referee, compared to 10 by the County. In addition, the parties will have conducted approximately 36 depositions in advance of a two-week bench trial expected to begin on January 29. A separate jury trial may also follow shortly thereafter if there are any unresolved issues remaining, and post-trial briefing will also be necessary. County Counsel anticipates that this intense level of activity will have tapered off by the end of this fiscal year. Should the County prevail in this nuisance abatement action, it will be entitled to recover its attorney’s fees pursuant to Napa County Code section 1.20.025.
County Counsel is also requesting approval of a budget amendment increasing the legal services appropriation by $1,155,000 and transferring $1,155,000 from the Appropriation for Contingencies. This amount includes the increased compensation maximum under the fifth amendment to the RPLG agreement as well as other anticipated legal services expenses. Additionally, County was recently served with complaints in three new matters, and County Counsel has arranged representation from various existing outside counsel firms based on their specialized areas of expertise. County Counsel is also incurring unbudgeted legal services expenses for a document management database that supports litigation discovery and large Public Records Act requests, which are closely associated with Hoopes and other ongoing litigation. Therefore, $455,000 in additional appropriation is requested.
The County would face detrimental impacts if the Board were to reject County Counsel’s requests. Without approval, Renne Public Law Group will discontinue representing the County on the brink of trial in the Hoopes case and cannot be replaced without significant additional expense and delay. If County Counsel were to provide these services or represent the County in three new cases without the assistance of outside counsel, it would disrupt the work of the office and seriously impinge on the ability of County Counsel to provide its current level of service to County officials, departments, and other entities. Moreover, responding to discovery and large Public Records Acts requests without a document management system would require significant additional staff time and might introduce avoidable errors.
Requested Actions:
1. Approve and authorize the Chair to sign Amendment No. 5 to Agreement No. 210364B with Renne Public Law Group to increase the maximum compensation from $800,000 to $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2023-2024 only, after which the maximum compensation will revert to $800,000 per fiscal year.
2. Approval of a Budget Amendment:
a. Increasing the appropriation to County Counsel legal services (1200000-52140) by $1,155,000; and
b. Decreasing the appropriation for contingency (1059000-58100) by $1,155,000. The Appropriation for Contingencies balance will be $3,567,112 if this request is approved.
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
No |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
Renne Public Law Group is available to provide the services requested and has significant expertise in these areas of law. |
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Is the general fund affected? |
Yes |
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Future fiscal impact: |
Funds will be appropriated in future fiscal years as needed. Attorneys’ fees may be recovered. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
If the requests are not approved, the County will be unable to pay RPLG and other outside counsel for their services. |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.