GILB v. CHIANG

















Filed 7/2/10











CERTIFIED
FOR PUBLICATION







IN THE COURT OF
APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THIRD APPELLATE
DISTRICT

(Sacramento)

----






>

DAVID A. GILB, as Director, etc. et al., Plaintiffs and Respondents, v. JOHN CHIANG, as Controller, etc. et al., Defendants and Appellants; SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, etc. et al., Interveners and Appellants.

C061947 (Super. Ct. No. 34200880000026CUWMGDS)

APPEAL
from a judgment of the Superior Court
of Sacramento
County, Timothy M. Frawley, Judge. Affirmed.



Kaye
Scholer, Steven S. Rosenthal, Marc S. Cohen, Jay W. Waks, and Bryant
Delgadillo; Richard J. Chivaro, Ronald V. Placet and Shawn D. Silva for
Defendants and Appellants.



Law
Offices of Brooks Ellison and Patrick J. Whalen for California Attorneys,
Administrative Law Judges, etc.; Paul E. Harris III, Brooke D. Pierman; Olson
Hagel & Fishburn, Deborah B. Caplan, N. Eugene Hill and Richard C.
Miadich for Service Employees International Union, Yvonne Walker, Pamela
Handel, Tamekia Robinson and Kathleen Phillips; Carroll, Burdick &
McDonough, Gary M. Messing, Gregg McLean Adam and Jonathan Yank, for California
Correctional Peace Officers' Association and California Statewide Law
Enforcement Association; Daniel M. Lindsay for California Correctional Peace
Officers' Association; Kasey C. Clark for California Statewide Law Enforcement
Association, Interveners and Appellants.



K.
William Curtis, Warren C. Stracener, Linda A. Mayhew, Christopher E. Thomas for
Plaintiffs and Respondents.









The main issue in
this appeal is whether the California Department of Personnel Administration
(DPA) has authority to direct the State Controller temporarily to defer paying
state employees' salaries (except for federally-mandated minimum wages) when
appropriations are unavailable due to the state Legislature's failure to enact
a timely state budget. (Gov. Code, §
12440.[1]) Although DPA merely sought to implement a
California Supreme Court decision (White
v. Davis
(2003) 30 Cal.4th 528), the Controller disagrees with DPA's interpretation of
the judicial opinion.

Plaintiffs DPA and
its director David A. Gilb (collectively, DPA) sought declaratory and other
relief against defendants State Controller John Chiang and the Office of State
Controller (collectively, the Controller).
Various state employee groups intervened in support of the Controller.[2]


Despite â€