The Governor of Ohio signed amended House Bill 126 into law on April 21, 2022, greatly restricting the ability of Ohio’s public school districts to challenge property tax valuations. Once the law goes into effect on July...more
The State of Hawaii Land Use Commission’s reversion of 1,060 acres from a conditional urban land use classification to the prior agricultural use classification was not an unconstitutional taking because the landowner could...more
Sometimes court decisions make you say “huh?” In March 2019, the Iowa Court of Appeals made an interesting determination in the Estate of Newhall decision. A brother and sister had been in court for many years regarding...more
Calif. Appellate Court Decision May Also Apply to Other Types of Water Providers - An irrigation district may adopt and enforce reasonable rules related to water service, and may terminate water delivery for failure to...more
CEQA Case Report: Understanding the Judicial Landscape for Development - In an unpublished opinion issued May 31, 2018, Save Adelaida v. County of San Luis Obispo, Case No. B279285, the California Court of Appeal...more
Do 1,400 cattle and 17.4 million gallons of cow waste in open-air lagoons, upwind and a half a mile from a religious youth summer camp, impose a substantial burden? As unpleasant as a concentrated animal feed operation...more
The South Carolina Court of Appeals’ recent opinion in Montgomery v. Spartanburg County Assessor provides an interesting discussion of the definition of “fair market value for agricultural purposes” in connection with South...more
Alika Atay et al v. County of Maui, et al, No. 15-16466 (9th Cir., Nov. 18, 2016) - Hawai’i Papaya Indus. Assn., et al v. County of Hawaii, No. 14-17538 (9th Circ., Nov. 18, 2016) - Robert Ito Farm, Inc., et al. v. County...more
In a major victory for beekeepers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has vacated the EPA’s approval of the pesticide sulfoxaflor, concluding that the approval was based on “flawed and limited data” regarding...more
On June 4, 2015, the Court of Appeal ruled that California Fish and Game Code section 1602 (“Section 1602”) unambiguously requires notification to the Department of Fish and Wildlife (“Department”) if an entity or individual...more