A California appellate court affirmed a lower court's decision not to interject itself into a city's still ongoing process of preparing an environmental impact report (EIR) for a proposed development project. The developer wanted the lower court to issue a writ of administrative mandamus to compel t...
A California appellate court reversed in part and affirmed in part a lower court decision denying a citizen group's petition to set aside an amendment to a county's general land use plan that altered the definition of "net acreage." Substantial evidence supports a finding that the amendment could ha...
The California Supreme Court held that a county's decision not to renew a conditional use permit for a private airport is not a "project" subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Declining to renew the conditional use permit was not a public project unde...
A California appellate court affirmed the California Coastal Commission's denial of an individual's application for a coastal development permit for a residential and commercial project. The project, approved by the city, was located in an area zoned for commercial visitor-serving uses. Despite the ...
A California appellate court upheld an individual's conviction for the unlawful disposal of hazardous waste but reversed his sentence. There was sufficient evidence to support his conviction and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in ordering him to pay the local hazardous materials managem...
A California appellate court upheld the dismissal of developers' petition to set aside design guidelines for a development project in North Hollywood. The design guidelines are not a zoning ordinance and, therefore, need not comply with the procedural and individualized notice requirements of the st...
A district court dismissed a landowner’s fraud and conspiracy counterclaims against the Virgin Islands on grounds of sovereign immunity. The Virgin Islands government filed suit against the landowner under CERCLA and state law for allegedly releasing hazardous substances onto its land and into...
A California court voided an agreement between California and the four major Southern California water agencies (Metropolitan Water District, Imperial Irrigation District, Coachella Valley Water District, and San Diego County Water Authority) concerning the allocation of water from the Colorado Rive...
The Supreme Court of Vermont reversed and remanded a lower court’s decision that granted a corporate officer’s motion to dismiss the complaint of a property owner for trespass and nuisance. Contrary to the lower court's decision, the complaint alleged facts sufficient to find liability. ...
A California appellate court affirmed a lower court’s decision to vacate an ordinance issued by the City of Manhattan Beach, which prohibited certain retailers from distributing plastic bags to customers at the point of sale, until the city prepared an environmental impact report pursuant to the C...