The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) recently published a final rule (Rule) revising the implementing regulations for the National Environmental Quality Act (42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq ) (NEPA). Touted as the...more
On April 23, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-54-20 (EO) which, in part, addresses an outstanding question related to the California Environmental Quality Act’s (CEQA) “public review”...more
In a continued effort to take aggressive steps to protect the health and welfare of its citizens from COVID-19, the City of San Diego (“City”) enacted a temporary moratorium on evictions to provide relief to residential and...more
The uncertainty of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has permeated every aspect of our society - personally and economically. As we continue to navigate this “new normal,” we’re taking a closer look at how the virus might...more
In the belatedly-published Environmental Council of Sacramento, et al. v. County of Sacramento (Cordova Hills, LLC, et al. – Real Parties-in-Interest) (2020) ____ Cal.App.5th ____,the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed...more
In the fourth quarter of 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a package of housing-related legislation that included 18 individual bills. Within this package, there were a significant number of important...more
1/10/2020
/ Affordable Housing ,
Eviction ,
Exemptions ,
Governor Newsom ,
Just Cause ,
Lease Term ,
New Legislation ,
Rent Control ,
Rent Increases ,
Residential Leases ,
State Legislatures ,
Tenant Protection Acts ,
Tenants
This Fall, the California Coastal Commission (“Commission”) was handed down two significant victories, further cementing its authority and jurisdiction within California coastal zones. These cases demonstrate that, in certain...more
11/15/2019
/ Appeals ,
California Coastal Commission ,
CEQA ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Dismissals ,
Encroachments ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Equitable Tolling ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Good Faith ,
Homeowners ,
Hotels ,
Land Developers ,
Petition for Writ of Mandate ,
Private Property ,
Property Owners ,
Public Access Laws ,
Public Property ,
Public Use ,
Standard of Review ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Substantial Evidence ,
Takings Clause ,
Time-Barred Claims
Recent Cases - Land Use and Entitlements
The Second District Court of Appeal rejected a California Environmental Quality Act challenge to a mitigated negative declaration for a 24-room boutique hotel (the “Project”) in...more
In Sacramentans for Fair Planning v. City of Sacramento (2019) ___ Cal.App. 5th ___, the Third District Court of Appeal upheld the City of Sacramento’s use of a sustainable communities environmental assessment (“SCEA”)...more
8/5/2019
/ Appeals ,
CEQA ,
Construction Project ,
Due Process ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Equal Protection ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Land Developers ,
Sustainable Communities Strategy ,
Zoning Laws
In Fudge v. City of Laguna (G055711), published on February 13, 2019, the Fourth District Court of Appeal joined the First and Sixth Districts by reaffirming the need for a litigant to wait for the California Coastal...more
3/14/2019
/ Administrative Remedies ,
Appeals ,
Building Permits ,
CA Supreme Court ,
California Coastal Commission ,
CEQA ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
De Novo Standard of Review ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Exhaustion Doctrine ,
Real Estate Development
The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (“OPR”) has spent five years drafting a comprehensive update to 30 sections of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) Guidelines. The updated text (“Final Text”)...more
1/8/2019
/ Affordable Housing ,
CEQA ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Mitigation ,
Motor Vehicles ,
New Guidance ,
New Regulations ,
Office of Administrative Law ,
Office of Planning & Research (OPR) ,
Transportation Industry ,
Water Supplies
Makah Indian Tribe, et al. v. Quileute Indian Tribe et al., 813 F.3d 1157 (9th Cir. 2017). -
Defying the universal notion that whales and seals are, in fact, mammals, the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed in part, and...more
TDY Holdings v. United States, et al., 872 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2017) -
TDY brought suit for contribution under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) against the U.S. government...more
4/30/2018
/ Appeals ,
CERCLA ,
Chemicals ,
Clean-Up Costs ,
Contamination ,
Cost Allocation ,
Environmental Claims ,
Federal Contractors ,
Governmental Liability ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
Military Contracts
Sturgeon v. Frost, et al., 872 F.3d 927 (9th Cir. 2017).
In September 2011, moose hunter John Sturgeon brought an action against the National Park Service (“Park Service”), alleging it inappropriately banned him from using...more
4/23/2018
/ Alaska ,
ANILCA ,
Commerce Clause ,
Hunting ,
Land Preservation ,
Motor Vehicles ,
National Park Service ,
National Parks ,
Navigable Waters ,
Public Land ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Water Rights
WildEarth Guardians v. United States Bureau of Land Management, et al., 870 F.3d 1222 (10th Cir. 2017). WildEarth Guardians and the Sierra Club (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) brought a claim under the Administrative Procedure...more
United States of America v. Osage Wind, LLC et al., 871 F.3d 1078 2017 WL 4109940 (10th Cir. Sept. 18, 2017). Causing heartburn for project applicants developing on tribal land, the Tenth Circuit reversed the District Court...more
3/2/2018
/ Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) ,
Department of the Interior ,
Excavation ,
Land Developers ,
Mineral Extraction ,
Mineral Leases ,
Mining ,
Native American Issues ,
Permits ,
Secretary of the Interior ,
Summary Judgment ,
Tribal Lands ,
Wind Farm ,
Wind Power
Asarco, LLC v. Atlantic Richfield Company, 866 F.3d 1108 (9th Cir. 2017). In a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) contribution case, the Ninth Circuit addressed three issues of...more
2/28/2018
/ CERCLA ,
Chapter 11 ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Clean Water Act ,
Consent Decrees ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Contribution Claims ,
Environmental Liability ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Liability ,
RCRA ,
Remedial Actions ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Split of Authority ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Summary Judgment ,
Time-Barred Claims
Prop 65 Plaintiffs routinely file most Prop 65 cases in Alameda County, presumably because they believe it is a plaintiff-friendly forum. However, the California Court of Appeal recently issued a victory for Prop 65...more
1/9/2018
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Drinking Water ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Motion to Transfer ,
Natural Products ,
Proposition 65 ,
Retail Market ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Transfer of Venue ,
Venue
In July 2017, the California Supreme Court determined the federal Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995 (49 U.S.C. § 10101 et seq.) (“ICCTA”) does not preempt the application of the California Environmental...more
In Save Our Uniquely Rural Community Environment v. County of San Bernardino, __ Cal.App.4th ___, 2015 WL 1259781 (4th Dist., Div. 2, 2015) (SOURCE) , the Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s decision...more
Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians v. Brown, C074506 (9/24/2014) -
In a recent Third District Court of Appeal published opinion, the court in Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians v. Edmund G. Brown, Jr. (3rd....more
On October 15, 2013, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to review six of the nine submitted petitions stemming from an appellate court ruling upholding Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) greenhouse gas...more
On August 28, 2013 the California Office of Administrative Law (“OAL”) approved California Department of Toxic Substances Control’s (“DTSC”) Safer Products Regulations. These regulations will go into effect on October 1,...more
The landmark Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (“AB 32”) tasked the California Air Resources Board (“ARB”) with reducing greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. In adopting a scoping plan assembling a...more