(a) A court of competent jurisdiction may award reasonable attorneys’ fees and experts’ fees to a person who initiates a claim under an applicable law for contribution for, or recovery of, response costs incurred for a response action, or for any other response costs incurred at a site, if the person meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The person is a bona fide purchaser, an innocent landowner, a contiguous property owner, or a bona fide ground tenant, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 25395.102, and qualifies for immunity pursuant to this chapter.
(2) The person is a prevailing party.
(3) On or before 20 calendar days prior to the date of the trial on issues relating to the response costs at issue, the person serves on the defendant both of the following:
(A) If a response plan has been approved for that site pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 25395.90) or Article 7 (commencing with Section 25395.102), as applicable, a copy of the approved response plan.
(B) A written demand for compensation setting forth the specific sum demanded from the defendant, including a statement of the reasoning supporting the demand. The amount of written demand shall include all response costs sought from the defendant at issue, including all interest, but shall not include litigation expenses, attorneys’ fees, and experts’ fees. The amount of the demand may include any alleged consequential damages.
(b) ln determining whether to award reasonable attorneys’ fees and experts’ fees pursuant to this section, a court shall consider the relationship of the amount of the written demand described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) to the total sum of the response costs and, if appropriate and included in the demand, the consequential damages in the written demand, to the final determination of the costs and damages by the trier of fact.
(c) A court may award reasonable attorneys’ fees and experts’ fees to an agency that is the prevailing party in an action arising out of this chapter.
(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 510, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2007. Repealed as of January 1, 2027, pursuant to Section 25395.109, with continuing effect as provided in Section 25395.110.)