Legal Digest

The City of Stockton has successfully defended against a lawsuit filed by a developer whom the city cut out of two downtown redevelopment projects. The Second District Court of Appeal ruled that the developer, Civic Partners Stockton, LLC, could not pursue its lawsuit alleging breach of contract because the developer did not present the city with a claim for damages before filing suit. >>read more

A legal battle between wealthy property owners on the shores of Lake Tahoe appears to have been won by a group wanting to build a new boat dock. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected all arguments against the proposed dock presented by the Glenbrook Homeowners Association and allied parties, and the court upheld the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's approval of the project. >>read more

A settlement agreement between the City of Malibu and a developer has been thrown out by the Second District Court of Appeal because the agreement limited the city's police powers and was improperly adopted in closed session. >>read more

A developer that has fought a variety of government fees levied by numerous jurisdictions had its day in front of the state Supreme Court in October. But during an hour of oral argument, California's high court justices offered few hints of how they might rule. >>read more

A property owner's lawsuit against a San Francisco housing activist has been swatted down by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court found, essentially, that the First Amendment protected the activist's complaint about the property owners' plans. >>read more

The California Supreme Court has accepted a case in which a deal between the State Lands Commission and the City of Long Beach was halted by an appellate court. At issue is a complicated land swap. >>read more

A controversial decision that cast doubt on many mobile home rent control ordinances in California has been thrown out. >>read more

The Ninth Circuit has declined to decide a takings case brought by developers whose property the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has acquired through eminent domain for economic development. >>read more

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a plan that gives the San Joaquin Valley until 2010 to achieve permissible amounts of soot and dust in the air. Environmentalists and public health advocates had argued for a 2006 deadline. >>read more

A state appellate court has thrown out a "general plan" for a beach park in Santa Cruz because the initial study of environmental impacts did not address the effects of unleashed dogs at the park. However, the court also ruled that there was not enough evidence to force preparation of an environmental impact report for the park plan. >>read more

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the City of Rohnert Park and an Indian tribe planning to build a casino is not a "project" requiring environmental review, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled. >>read more

A lawsuit challenging a Wal-Mart store on the grounds that it would create downtown urban decay was rejected by the Third District Court of Appeal. The court did rule, however, that the Central Valley city of Anderson needed to require additional money to pay for the project's fair-share for improvements to a freeway interchange. >>read more

An appellate court panel has overturned a lower court's decision ordering Community Bank of Central California to return $4.4 million to King City. The city says the money was a deposit, and the city wants the money back. The bank says the money was collateral for a bank loan to the developer of a downtown redevelopment project. Because the developer defaulted on the loan, the bank wants to keep the money. >>read more

The director of the state Department of Conservation has standing to sue a local agency over mining and reclamation plans approved by the local agency, the state Supreme Court has ruled unanimously. The ruling was a clear victory for state enforcement of the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA), which regulates all surface mines in California. >>read more