Mammoth Lakes Municipal Code Ch. 1.12 Penalties and Other Remedies

(a) When, in this Code, any act or omission is made unlawful, it shall include causing, allowing, permitting, aiding, abetting, suffering, or concealing the fact of such act or omission. No person shall violate any provision or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this Code, other codes adopted by the Town, or any order of the County Health Officer. Every such person shall be guilty of a separate and distinct offense for each and every day, or any portion thereof, of which any violation of any provision of this Code is committed, continued or permitted by such person, and shall be punished accordingly.

(b) Every act prohibited, declared unlawful, or declared substandard or unsafe and every failure to perform an act made mandatory shall constitute either a misdemeanor or an infraction, at the discretion of the Town Attorney or district attorney, as applicable.

(c) Except as expressly provided otherwise in this Code or other applicable law, no act or omission constituting a violation of this Code shall be made lawful or otherwise permitted due to the Town's intentional or unintentional failure to prosecute, cite, or otherwise address such violation.

(Code 1990, § 1.12.010; Ord. No. 18-04, § 1(exh. A), 8-1-2018; Ord. No. 20-10, § 2, 9-2-2020)

(a) Except as otherwise provided in Sections 3.12.300 and 5.32.070, any person violating any of the provisions or failing to comply with any of the mandatory requirements of:

(1) This Code, including its adopted codes; or

(2) An order of the County Health Officer which is applicable within the Town;

may be prosecuted for an infraction.

(b) Any person convicted of an infraction under the provisions of this Code shall be punished according to the fine schedule listed below:

(1) $100.00 for a first violation;

(2) $200.00 for a second violation of the same provision (other than a Building and Safety Code provision) within one year, and $500.00 for a violation of a Building and Safety Code provision;

(3) $500.00 for each additional violation of the same provision (other than a Building and Safety Code provision) within one year, and $1,000.00 for a violation of a Building and Safety Code provision.

(Code 1990, § 1.12.020; Ord. No. 18-04, § 1(exh. A), 8-1-2018; Ord. No. 20-10, § 3, 9-2-2020)

(a) Any person violating any of the provisions or failing to comply with any of the mandatory requirements of this Code, including its adopted codes, may be prosecuted for a misdemeanor.

(b) Any person convicted of a misdemeanor under the provisions of this Code shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $1,000.00, imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or both.

(c) In the event a person is imprisoned for violation of any of the provisions of this Code, such person may be required to labor on public property or work within the Town.

(Code 1990, § 1.12.030; Ord. No. 18-04, § 1(exh. A), 8-1-2018)

The Town Attorney, by and at the request of the Town Council or Town staff, may institute an action in any court of competent jurisdiction to restrain, enjoin, or abate the conditions found to be in violation of the provisions of this Code, including its adopted codes, as provided by law. The Town Attorney, by and at the request of the Town Council or Town staff, may institute an action in any court of competent jurisdiction to collect a civil debt owing to the Town.

(Code 1990, § 1.12.040; Ord. No. 18-04, § 1(exh. A), 8-1-2018)

As set forth in Chapter 1.18, the Town may issue an administrative citation for any violation of this Code.

(Code 1990, § 1.12.050; Ord. No. 18-04, § 1(exh. A), 8-1-2018)

(a) In any action, administrative proceeding, or special proceeding commenced by the Town to abate a public nuisance, to enjoin violation of any provision of this Code, including its adopted codes, or to collect a civil debt owing to the Town, if the Town elects, at the initiation of that individual action or proceeding, to seek recovery of its own attorneys' fees, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover all costs incurred therein, including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of suit. In no action, administrative proceeding, or special proceeding shall an award of attorneys' fees to a prevailing party exceed the amount of reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Town in the action or proceeding.

(b) The Town shall be considered a prevailing party entitled to attorneys' fees under Subsection (a) of this section when it can demonstrate that:

(1) Its lawsuit was the catalyst motivating the defendant to provide the primary relief sought;

(2) The lawsuit was meritorious and achieved its result by threat of victory; and

(3) The Town reasonably attempted to settle the litigation before filing the lawsuit.

(Code 1990, § 1.12.060; Ord. No. 18-04, § 1(exh. A), 8-1-2018)