As I pointed out on September 13, 2011 (“Ten CEQA Litigation Mistakes To Avoid”), a CEQA plaintiff must not forget to name all real parties in interest since a failure to name indispensible parties under Code of Civil Procedure § 389 will result in dismissal. On October 9, 2011, Governor Brown signed into law a bill (AB 320 (Hill)) which makes it easier to avoid that mistake.

CEQA has long required state and local lead agencies approving a project to file a notice of determination (“NOD”) where an EIR is certified or negative declaration adopted, and allowed them to file a notice of exemption (“NOE”) where the project is determined to be exempt from CEQA. These notices are to be filed within five (5) working days of final project approval, and principally serve to alert the public of the agencies’ final decision and CEQA determination, and to trigger CEQA’s short (30 and 35 day) statutes of limitation for project challenges.