Overview
- The district court on Tuesday ordered California to pay $4.52 million to the Thomas More Society, including a 1.25 multiplier, for representing parents and teachers in Mirabelli v. Bonta.
- Judge Roger Benitez cited “litigation intransigence” by state officials, pointing to repeat dismissal bids, an appeal filed before a ruling on a stay, and arguments later withdrawn as meritless.
- The suit challenges school rules that told staff to keep a student's gender identity or social transition from parents, and the Supreme Court earlier in March let an injunction blocking those practices take effect during the appeal.
- California is still seeking changes to the injunction and pressing appeals, which the judge said has kept the case active and added to costs.
- The plaintiffs include teachers Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West from Escondido, and their lawyers said the award signals that governments risk large bills when policies violate parents’ constitutional rights.