Author Info for Downey Brand LLP

Samuel Bacal-Graves

California Supreme Court Clarifies Time to Appeal Writ Decisions

In Meinhardt v. City of Sunnyvale (2024) 16 Cal.5th 643 (“Meinhardt”), the California Supreme Court resolved a split in authorities over a procedural matter that will give CEQA litigants some certainty about when an appeal must…more

Appeals, CA Supreme Court, CEQA, Final Judgment, Split of Authority

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Samuel Bivins

Court of Appeal Upholds County of Monterey’s Management of Groundwater in Landmark SGMA Case

On November 13, 2023, the Sixth District Court of Appeal issued the first published decision interpreting California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (“SGMA”) in City of Marina et al., v. County of Monterey et al., Case…more

California, Groundwater, Groundwater Management Plan, Water, Water Supplies

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Monica Browner

EPA Adds Extensive New Amendments to its Risk Management Program in Final Rule

On March 11, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register amendments to the Risk Management Program (RMP) rule (Final Rule). Going into effect on May 10, 2024, EPA’s Final Rule, named the…more

Clean Air Act, Environmental Policies, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Final Rules, Hazardous Substances

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Kristin Capritto

Valuation Discounts in Modern Estate Planning

For most family business owners, the old way of discount planning has become perishable. For many years, closely-held business owners routinely heard estate planners advise them to give or sometimes sell family members’…more

Business Ownership, Business Valuations, Buyers, Controlling Stockholders, Estate Planning

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Marc Centor

San Francisco’s Storefront Vacancy Tax is Now in Effect

San Francisco’s Commercial Vacancy Tax Ordinance, meant to address vacant storefronts in neighborhood commercial districts, finally became effective on January 1, 2022. Although a supermajority of voters approved the tax on…more

Commercial Buildings, Commercial Property Owners, Local Ordinance, Tax Liability, Vacant Properties

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Nicolas Chapman

Ninth Circuit Hands Major Victory to Senior Water Right Holders on the Sacramento River

On May 23, 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a published opinion in Natural Resources Defense Council et al. v. Debra Haaland et al. (Case No. 21-15163) (“NRDC v. Haaland”) rejecting the plaintiffs’ challenges to…more

California, Endangered Species Act (ESA), Environmental Policies, National Marine Fisheries Service, Natural Resources

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Austin Cho

Sacramento County Superior Court Rules in Favor of the State Water Board’s Substitute Environmental Document for Phase I of the Bay-Delta Plan

Introduction - On March 15, 2024, the Sacramento County Superior Court found that the State Water Board’s substitute environmental document did not violate the Porter-Cologne Act, the California Environmental Quality Act…more

California, CEQA, Environmental Policies, State Water Boards, Water

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Andrea Clark

Update on NFIP and Endangered Species Act – FEMA Suspends Map Revision Applications

Back in 2019, we wrote a post about the surprising connection between the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). That post concluded with the following..…more

Endangered Species Act (ESA), FEMA, Flood Management, National Flood Insurance Program

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Brian Cragg

The CAISO Maps Out Transmission Additions Needed to Connect 165 GW of New Resources by 2045

The second 20-Year Transmission Outlook (2024 Outlook), a planning exercise issued by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) on July 31, identifies the transmission upgrades and additions needed to connect a…more

CAISO, California, Carbon Emissions, Electricity, Energy Market

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Jaycee Dean

USEPA Requires Monitoring and Treatment to Limit and Reduce PFAS in Drinking Water

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) announced the final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation establishing the first national legally enforceable drinking water standards (Maximum Contaminant Levels or…more

Compliance Monitoring, Drinking Water, Environmental Policies, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Hazardous Substances

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Jamie Dreher

California Supreme Court Clarifies Creditor Access to Spendthrift Trusts

On March 23, 2017, at the request of a certified question from the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court answered the age-old question – “what gives”? That is to say, what gives – the impenetrable…more

CA Supreme Court, Chapter 7, Consumer Bankruptcy, Creditors, Spendthrift Trusts

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Cassandra Ferrannini

Key Changes to PAGA and What Employers Should Know

Last week, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2288 and Senate Bill (SB) 92, which amended California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Since 2004, PAGA has created challenges for California employers because it…more

California, Employees, Employment Litigation, Labor Code, Labor Law Violations

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Jedediah Gibson

CPUC Issues Rulemaking to Address Electric Utility Failures to Connect or Upgrade Service for Electric Consumers

On January 30, 2024, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued Rulemaking 24-01-008, which will establish requirements and timelines for electric utilities to connect new customers or to upgrade existing ones. The…more

CPUC, Electricity, Energy Sector, Infrastructure, Utilities Sector

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Steven Goldberg

EPA’s Final Rule Enhances Risk Evaluations Process For Scrutiny of TSCA Chemicals

On May 3, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its Final Rule that amends the risk evaluation process for chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the steps chemical manufacturers and…more

Environmental Policies, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Hazardous Substances, Importers, Manufacturers

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Daria Gossett

Key Changes to PAGA and What Employers Should Know

Last week, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2288 and Senate Bill (SB) 92, which amended California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Since 2004, PAGA has created challenges for California employers because it…more

California, Employees, Employment Litigation, Labor Code, Labor Law Violations

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Nicole Granquist

USEPA’s New Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification Rule Becomes Effective November 27, 2023

On September 27, 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published its final 2023 Clean Water Act (“CWA”) Section 401 Water Quality Certification Improvement Rule (2023 Rule), which goes into effect on…more

Clean Water Act, Environmental Policies, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Section 401, Water

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Hina Gupta

Annual Legislative Update: Important Land Use Laws Taking Effect in 2024

The 2023 legislative session culminated in Governor Newsom signing dozens of land use bills. This post discusses the most important. The Legislature continued its multifaceted approach to addressing the housing crisis, with the…more

Affordable Housing, California, CEQA, Coastal Real Estate, Environmental Impact Report (EIR)

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Amy Higuera

Annual Legislative Update: Important Land Use Laws Taking Effect in 2024

The 2023 legislative session culminated in Governor Newsom signing dozens of land use bills. This post discusses the most important. The Legislature continued its multifaceted approach to addressing the housing crisis, with the…more

Affordable Housing, California, CEQA, Coastal Real Estate, Environmental Impact Report (EIR)

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Tyson Hubbard

Play It Again: No Contest Clauses Must Be Referenced In Each California Trust Amendment

No contest clauses are an ever-evolving area of the probate law in California. The Court of Appeal further refined the rules governing no contest clauses in a decision issued last week, Aviles v. Swearingen (2017) ___…more

Appeals, Beneficiaries, No Contest Clause, Probate Code, Trust Amendments

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Breana Inoshita

California Public Utilities Commission Proposes Target Timelines for Utilities to Connect or Upgrade Electric Customers

On August 12, 2024, the California Public Utilities Commission issued a proposed decision setting average and maximum targets and timelines for the large electric investor-owned utilities to connect new customers or upgrade…more

California, CPUC, Electricity, Energy Projects, Energy Sector

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Christopher Miles Kolkey

Hey, That’s Also My Turf! Contract Claims Involving Estates May Be Litigated in Federal Court

Exactly where a court’s jurisdiction begins and ends is a question that has long irked our judicial system. One muddle is the extent to which federal courts, as opposed to state courts, can decide disputes involving a decedent’s…more

Contract Claims, Contract Disputes, Diversity Jurisdiction, Estate Planning, Exceptions

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Alexandra LaFountain

Key Changes to PAGA and What Employers Should Know

Last week, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2288 and Senate Bill (SB) 92, which amended California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Since 2004, PAGA has created challenges for California employers because it…more

California, Employees, Employment Litigation, Labor Code, Labor Law Violations

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Alexandra Lizano

A Year in Review – Prop. 65 Notices: Unleaded Gasoline Notices Emerge as a Top Trend Across the State in 2023

Two thousand twenty-three was no exception to the trend of recent years in the ever-increasing issuance of private enforcer-led Proposition 65 60-Day Notices of Violation (“Notices”) to businesses allegedly selling consumer,…more

Arsenic, California, Cancer, Consumer Product Companies, Distributors

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Thomas MacBride Jr.

Supreme Court of California Rejects Class Action Suit Against PG&E for its 2019 Blackouts

Introduction - In Gantner v. PG&E Corporation et al. (November 20, 2023) No. S273340, 2023 WL 8010215, the Supreme Court of California (“Court”) unanimously held that a plaintiff’s class action lawsuit against PG&E for damages…more

Bankruptcy Court, California, Class Action, CPUC, Damages

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Christopher Marelich

The CAISO Maps Out Transmission Additions Needed to Connect 165 GW of New Resources by 2045

The second 20-Year Transmission Outlook (2024 Outlook), a planning exercise issued by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) on July 31, identifies the transmission upgrades and additions needed to connect a…more

CAISO, California, Carbon Emissions, Electricity, Energy Market

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Christian Marsh

Department of Transportation Announces $426.7 Million Grant to Develop Deepwater Port and Marine Terminal in Humboldt Bay

On January 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) announced that the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District (“District”) will receive $426.7 million to construct a deepwater port and marine…more

Department of Transportation (DOT), Infrastructure, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Offshore Wind, Wind Power

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Sean McKissick

No Such Thing as a Free Ride: Section 859 Awards Can Now Go To Whoever Does the Work

Newcomers to probate litigation are frequently surprised by how differently things work in probate court, as opposed to your more straightforward civil courts. (And how do those newcomers know how civil courts work? Law &…more

Beneficiaries, Breach of Duty, Elder Abuse, Estate Planning, Fiduciary Duty

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Stephen Meyer

Cause for Concern Over Organic Fertilizer Made from Food Waste?

In December 2016, the National Organic Program (NOP) issued guidance 5034-1 that can be interpreted as approving of food waste for use in organic crop production (for example, as an input in fertilizer) without regard to whether…more

Administrative Procedure Act, Agribusiness, Crops, Fertilizers, Food Safety

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Lauren Murvihill

EPA Adds Extensive New Amendments to its Risk Management Program in Final Rule

On March 11, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register amendments to the Risk Management Program (RMP) rule (Final Rule). Going into effect on May 10, 2024, EPA’s Final Rule, named the…more

Clean Air Act, Environmental Policies, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Final Rules, Hazardous Substances

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Danielle Nafekh

Court Applies Harmless Error Rule to Validate Will Benefiting Ex-Fiancé

Typewritten wills in California generally require the signatures of two witnesses to be found valid, but the harmless error rule can save the day. Probate Code section 6110(c)(2), as recently discussed, provides that a will not…more

Appeals, Clear and Convincing Evidence, Estate Planning, Harmless Error, Probate

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Meredith Nikkel

Ninth Circuit Hands Major Victory to Senior Water Right Holders on the Sacramento River

On May 23, 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a published opinion in Natural Resources Defense Council et al. v. Debra Haaland et al. (Case No. 21-15163) (“NRDC v. Haaland”) rejecting the plaintiffs’ challenges to…more

California, Endangered Species Act (ESA), Environmental Policies, National Marine Fisheries Service, Natural Resources

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Kevin O'Brien

Ninth Circuit Hands Major Victory to Senior Water Right Holders on the Sacramento River

On May 23, 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a published opinion in Natural Resources Defense Council et al. v. Debra Haaland et al. (Case No. 21-15163) (“NRDC v. Haaland”) rejecting the plaintiffs’ challenges to…more

California, Endangered Species Act (ESA), Environmental Policies, National Marine Fisheries Service, Natural Resources

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Kathryn Oehlschlager

California Supreme Court Reverses First District Court of Appeal’s Decision in UC Berkeley People’s Park Student Housing Case

The California Supreme Court, on June 6, 2024, reversed the First District Court of Appeal’s decision regarding UC Berkeley’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) EIR. The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision clears the way for UC…more

CA Supreme Court, California, CEQA, Colleges, Construction Project

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Dustin Peterson

Downey Brand Compilation of Published CEQA Cases in 2023

2023 served up roughly the same number of published appellate CEQA cases as 2022 with a defense win percentage of over 80 percent, which has been the case in many, if not all, of the past ten years. A prominent theme of…more

Building Codes, California, CEQA, City Planning Departments, Coastal Real Estate

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Kelly Pope

COVID-19 and Child Custody

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is now impacting the daily lives of families all over the country in unprecedented ways, and it is inevitable that some of those impacts may affect your marital dissolution action. Most immediately, if…more

Child Care, Child Custody, Coronavirus/COVID-19, Health and Safety, Infectious Diseases

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Silvio Reggiardo, III

Valuation Discounts in Modern Estate Planning

For most family business owners, the old way of discount planning has become perishable. For many years, closely-held business owners routinely heard estate planners advise them to give or sometimes sell family members’…more

Business Ownership, Business Valuations, Buyers, Controlling Stockholders, Estate Planning

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Hannah Shakin

Print and Sign Your Will – A Lesson from the Anne Heche Estate

Traditionally, the creation of a valid will, in California and elsewhere, required strict adherence to certain formalities. Estate law has been tepidly moving away from requiring compliance with those formalities, with a goal…more

Estate Planning, Uniform Law Commission (ULC), Wills

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Scott Shapiro

The Future [of] Flood Risk Data

I had the opportunity this week to attend a National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA) Mentoring Session on the Future [of] Flood Risk Data. This session, offered by NAFSMA in partnership with FEMA…more

Disaster Aid, FEMA, Flooding, NAFSMA, National Flood Insurance Program

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Andrew Skanchy

California Supreme Court Clarifies Time to Appeal Writ Decisions

In Meinhardt v. City of Sunnyvale (2024) 16 Cal.5th 643 (“Meinhardt”), the California Supreme Court resolved a split in authorities over a procedural matter that will give CEQA litigants some certainty about when an appeal must…more

Appeals, CA Supreme Court, CEQA, Final Judgment, Split of Authority

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Rebecca Smith

State Water Board Issues Sweeping Water Right Curtailment Order in 2022 for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Watershed

On March 21, 2022, the State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board” or “Board”) issued a letter to approximately 20,000 water rights holders warning them curtailment orders are imminent due to continued drought and…more

Drought, State Water Boards, Water, Water Rights, Water Supplies

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Megan Somogyi

California Public Utilities Commission Proposes Target Timelines for Utilities to Connect or Upgrade Electric Customers

On August 12, 2024, the California Public Utilities Commission issued a proposed decision setting average and maximum targets and timelines for the large electric investor-owned utilities to connect new customers or upgrade…more

California, CPUC, Electricity, Energy Projects, Energy Sector

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Robert Soran

Ninth Circuit Finds that Distribution of Drinking Water Containing MCL-Compliant Levels of Hexavalent Chromium Gives Rise to RCRA Liability in Decision that Upends Law of the Circuit

The Ninth Circuit recently issued a decision in Cal. River Watch v. City of Vacaville (Case No. 20-16605) (“Vacaville”) regarding the breadth of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) liability for contributing to the…more

Appeals, Contamination, Drinking Water, Groundwater, Hazardous Waste

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Elizabeth Stallard

California Supreme Court Rules that Premium Pay for Meal and Rest Breaks Must be Calculated Using the “Regular Rate of Pay”

The Supreme Court issued its opinion in Ferra v. Lowes Hollywood Hotel, LLC yesterday, ruling that when employers calculate meal or rest break premium pay, they must calculate and pay the premium based on the employee’s “regular…more

CA Supreme Court, Compensation, Employment Litigation, Over-Time, Premium Pay

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Dale Stern

FDA Announces Proposed Changes to Agricultural Water Requirements Under the Food Safety Modernization Act

On December 2, 2021 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a proposed rule aimed at enhancing the safety of agricultural water used on covered produce (other than sprouts). The proposed rule is the agency’s latest…more

Agricultural Sector, Comment Period, Crops, Farms, Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

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Tina Thomas

Downey Brand Compilation of Published CEQA Cases in 2023

2023 served up roughly the same number of published appellate CEQA cases as 2022 with a defense win percentage of over 80 percent, which has been the case in many, if not all, of the past ten years. A prominent theme of…more

Building Codes, California, CEQA, City Planning Departments, Coastal Real Estate

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Melissa Thorme

USEPA’s New Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification Rule Becomes Effective November 27, 2023

On September 27, 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published its final 2023 Clean Water Act (“CWA”) Section 401 Water Quality Certification Improvement Rule (2023 Rule), which goes into effect on…more

Clean Water Act, Environmental Policies, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Section 401, Water

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Patrick Veasy

USEPA Requires Monitoring and Treatment to Limit and Reduce PFAS in Drinking Water

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) announced the final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation establishing the first national legally enforceable drinking water standards (Maximum Contaminant Levels or…more

Compliance Monitoring, Drinking Water, Environmental Policies, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Hazardous Substances

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Jake Voorhees

Sacramento County Superior Court Rules in Favor of the State Water Board’s Substitute Environmental Document for Phase I of the Bay-Delta Plan

Introduction - On March 15, 2024, the Sacramento County Superior Court found that the State Water Board’s substitute environmental document did not violate the Porter-Cologne Act, the California Environmental Quality Act…more

California, CEQA, Environmental Policies, State Water Boards, Water

See all updates »

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