CP&DR

Birdwatchers Win Case regarding Long Beach Navy Base Reuse

Apr 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 04 Apr 2001

Birdwatchers can legitimately state a claim of injury and therefore have standing to sue the Navy under the National Environmental Policy Act over the destruction of bird habitat on the former site of the Long Beach Naval Station, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. However, the court also held that the birdwatchers do not have standing to sue as California taxpayers.

Landlords Lose Again as Court Sets New Due Process Standard

Mar 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 03 Mar 2001

The California Supreme Court has dealt a setback to property rights advocates and outlined a new standard for proving that a government agency violated a property owner's federal due process rights. On a 5-2 decision, the court held that a landlord who is subject to a mobilehome rent control ordinance can receive compensation under the federal Civil Rights Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1983) only if the government deliberately flouts the law.

Cal Supemes Ask Many Questions, But Offer Few Hints in Pivotal Case

Mar 1, 2001

Legal Digest, Paul Shigley, Vol. 16 No. 03 Mar 2001

The California Supreme Court in February heard oral arguments in a California Environmental Quality Act case for the first time since 1997. But members of the court gave few indications of how they would rule in the case, which centers on the lack of an environmental review for a city-sponsored ballot measure. Justices peppered attorneys on either side of Friends of Sierra Madre v. City of Sierra Madre, No. S085088, with questions throughout the hour-long proceedings in Sacramento. Afterward,

Appellate Panel Awards Legal Costs to Make Property Owner Whole

Mar 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 03 Mar 2001

A public agency that loses an inverse condemnation case must pay all reasonable legal costs that the property owner incurred, even if there is a second round of litigation, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled. The decision came in a case in which the Hawaiian Gardens Redevelopment Agency delayed payment of litigation expenses and then refused to pay later costs incurred by the owners of an automobile dealership.

Off-Site Advertisements Ruled Illegal despite On-Site Office Space

Mar 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 03 Mar 2001

The owner of a commercial building and billboard next to a freeway could not avoid state prohibitions against off-site advertising simply by leasing office space to the advertisers, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled. The court held that the Outdoor Advertising Act (Bus. & Prof. Code § 5200 et. seq.) prohibited the billboard's use for promoting commercial enterprises that were clearly undertaken elsewhere.

Court Sides with Voters: Measure Trumps City Contract with Driller

Mar 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 03 Mar 2001

The City of Hermosa Beach's "no-oil" initiative overrides the city's pre-existing contract with an oil company to permit oil drilling on a city-owned parcel of land, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled. The initiative is not trumped by the contracts clause of the U.S. Constitution, and the oil company in question did not have a right to proceed in the face of the initiative, the court decided.

Rancho Palos Verdes View Rule Survives Homeowner Challenge

Mar 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 03 Mar 2001

A Rancho Palos Verdes homeowner who challenged the city's "view protection ordinance" has lost his case at the Second District Court of Appeal. The court rejected arguments that the ordinance — which allows the city to order the pruning of trees that block ocean views — is an impermissible use of the city's police power and a taking. The court also dismissed arguments that the city's application of the ordinance violated due process rights.

High Court Weighs Potentially far-Reaching Takings Case: Messy Issues, Arguments Confront Supreme Co

Feb 28, 2001

Kenneth Jost, Legal Digest, Vol. 16 No. 03 Mar 2001

WASHINGTON _ Supreme Court justices appeared mired in a swamp of messy issues on February 26 as they heard a Rhode Island landowner's plea for compensation for being blocked from filling 18 acres of Atlantic coastal wetlands.

Adult Business: U.S. Supreme Court Won't Resolve Permit Application Process Conflict

Feb 1, 2001

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 16 No. 02 Feb 2001

The U.S. Supreme Court has dropped its consideration of a case that many people hoped would resolve conflicts over processing of adult business permit applications. The court dismissed a case from Wisconsin because the adult business had withdrawn its application, so "the case no longer qualifies for judicial review," Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for a unanimous court. The court had accepted the case because lower courts differ on the meaning of "prompt judicial review." The court in FW/PBS v. Da...

Inverse Condemnation: Jury Awards san Diego Commerical Builder $94.5 Million for Damages

Feb 1, 2001

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 16 No. 02 Feb 2001

A San Diego County Superior Court jury has awarded a developer $94.5 million in damages in an inverse condemnation lawsuit. The developer of a struggling business park near the Mexican border filed the lawsuit after arguing with the city since the early 1990s. Roque de la Fuente II contended in court that the city breached a 1986 development agreement, dooming development of his 312-acre business park. De la Fuente contended the city made permits difficult to obtain by increasing fees and conditions...

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