Can a plaintiff claim fees for hours reasonably expended on an action?

Under federal law, the hours reasonably expended on an action may include services performed in closely related administrative proceedings. In Chrapliwy v. Uniroyal, Inc. (7th Cir.1982) 670 F.2d 760, for example, plaintiffs brought a Title VII action alleging employment discrimination, and were granted partial summary judgment on liability issues. The action was ultimately settled, but during a lengthy delay before settlement, plaintiffs pursued court and administrative proceedings in an effort to debar defendant from its federal contracts because of its discriminatory practices. The court held that plaintiffs' award of fees in the Title VII action properly included compensation for services in the debarment proceedings. The court reasoned that those services contributed to the ultimate termination of the Title VII action and in that sense were within that action. (Id., at pp. 765-766.)

We recognize that while federal statutes authorize fees "in any action or proceeding" (see, e.g., 42 U.S.C. 1988), California law more narrowly provides that fees may be awarded "in any action...." Relying on that difference and on Consumer Lobby Against Monopolies v. Public Utilities Com. (1979) 25 Cal.3d 891, 160 Cal.Rptr. 124, 603 P.2d 41, appellant urges that unlike federal law, California law absolutely prohibits any award for services performed in administrative proceedings. We disagree.