What is the legal test for determining whether a plaintiff has been successful in a civil case?

Where the matter involves a mixed question of fact and law, the first step is to "establish what, if any, . . . facts are in dispute." (Board of Administration v. Wilson (1997) 52 Cal.App.4th 1109, 1128). The next step is to identify the applicable rule of law using a de novo standard of review. "If application of the rule of law to the facts requires an inquiry that is essentially factual -- one that is founded on application of the factfinding tribunal's experience with the mainsprings of human conduct -- the concerns of judicial administration will favor the

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