California Loses "Frivilous" Lawsuit

The 9th Circuit awarded fees to a group of insurers who fought an unconstitutional state law all the way to the Supreme Court.  The opinion starts

This case returns to our calendar for the fourth time following its journey to the Supreme Court. Plaintiffs, three insurance companies and one insurance trade association, originally brought this action against the California Commissioner of Insurance ("Commissioner") seeking to bar the enforcement of the Holocaust Victim Insurance Relief Act of 1999 ("HVIRA"), Cal. Ins. Code §§ 13800-13807 (1999). That statute requires the disclosure of certain information pertaining to Holocaust-era insurance policies written in Europe. Following the Supreme Court’s disposition of the case in their favor, plaintiffs sought attorney’s fees in this court. We remanded the fees question to the district court, which denied the request. The appealable order was appealed. [emphasis added]

It be interesting to see how often a government has to pay fees.  Anyone know?  I also note that the State of California had outside counsel, so in addition to paying the plaintiff’s fees they will also be paying outside counsel’s fees.