Legal Digest

A property owner that lost a California Environmental Quality Act suit against the City of San Rafael has been told to pay the city for costs incurred recovering emails related to the property and a proposed development project. » read more | add to cart

The state Supreme Court has accepted a case involving the baseline for an environmental impact report of a Southern California oil refinery project. The decision to accept the case means the state high court now has four California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) cases pending. » read more | add to cart

An environmental impact report is necessary for a 120-unit senior housing facility in the City of Grand Terrace, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled. The unanimous three-judge appellate panel upheld a trial court judge’s ruling that a mitigated negative declaration for the project was inadequate. » read more | add to cart

A hypothetical or speculative use of property is not a proper basis for determining damages caused by a city’s temporary construction easement, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled.

The unanimous three-judge appellate panel overturned a jury’s decision to award a Fremont homeowner $195,000 in temporary severance damages. The First District ruled that the trial court judge improperly permitted the jury to consider compensation for hypothetical — rather than actual — injuries. » read more | add to cart

In a potentially important decision for environmental advocates, the Third District Court of Appeal has ruled that environmental groups are eligible for attorney’s fees in a Bay-Delta water lawsuit, even though public agencies won similar litigation. » read more | add to cart

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has permitted a property owner’s defamation lawsuit against a San Diego County supervisor to go forward.

A divided three-judge panel overturned a lower court’s ruling that Manufactured Home Communities’ lawsuit against Supervisor Dianne Jacob was a SLAPP suit. The Ninth Circuit determined that a jury could find some of Jacob’s challenged statements were “actionable as provably false assertions of fact.” » read more | add to cart

The City of Fresno cut short its inquiry into the historic significance of two apartment buildings, one of which is proposed for demolition, the Fifth District Court of Appeal has ruled. » read more | add to cart

Voters in the City of San Clemente will decide on a building height and view ordinance, thanks to a state appellate court ruling regarding signature gathering for a referendum of the ordinance. » read more | add to cart

The Second District Court of Appeal has ruled that a lower court erroneously rejected an injunction requested by a community group that is seeking to prevent construction of a new school in Los Angeles’s Echo Park area. » read more | add to cart

The California Supreme Court has depublished an eminent domain case from San Diego County on the question of when to value property taken by the government. » read more | add to cart