A lawsuit challenging the City of Stockton's decision to privatize its water, wastewater and storm drain systems is headed back to trial court, where a judge will reconsider whether the city's contract with a private company is exempt from environmental review. >>read more
Kern County should have prepared an environmental impact report before adopting an ordinance regulating the disposal of sewage sludge on agricultural land, the Fifth District Court of Appeal has ruled. >>read more
A lawsuit challenging a building permit granted by San Francisco was not filed and served before the statute of limitations deadline, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled. The court also held that the city's notice of decision and order did not deceive the project opponent regarding the deadline. >>read more
A City of San Francisco decision to deny an application for a cell phone antenna has been upheld in part by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. >>read more
A billboard company has lost a lawsuit seeking damages from the City of Los Angeles for planting trees that obstructed visibility of six billboards. >>read more
A lawsuit filed by Malibu property owners while the City of Malibu was suing the Coastal Commission was not a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled. >>read more
The meetings of two Malibu City Council members whom the council had charged with reviewing and negotiating over a land use plan prepared by the Coastal Commission were not subject to the state's open meeting law, an appellate court panel has ruled. >>read more
WASHINGTON _ The Supreme Court has spared municipalities from the threat of paying attorneys fees awards for improperly blocking construction of cellphone towers.
A lawsuit challenging a mitigated negative declaration for a conditional use permit in the City of Irvine cannot go forward because the plaintiff did not serve the city with the lawsuit within 90 days, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled.
When the City of Lake Forest added the power of eminent domain to a 14-year-old redevelopment plan, the city should have made new blight findings, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled.
The City of Los Angeles's general plan framework has survived a second lawsuit filed by neighborhood activists, who won an earlier round against the city.
The City of Escondido erred when it approved a lower-than-requested mobile home rent increase, but the city's action did not constitute a taking of private property, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled.
WASHINGTON _ The U.S. Supreme Court appeared unreceptive in late February to arguments by property-rights advocates to rein in the use of eminent domain by municipalities that take land and turn it over to private companies for economic development.
A county may not rely on mitigation measures to determine that a project is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the First District Court of Appeal has ruled.
