The California Courts of Appeal are typically pretty stingy with their published opinions – only about 10% of Court of Appeal decisions are published in the Official Reports. And per Rule 8.1105 of the California Rules of…
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/ Civil Procedure, Professional Malpractice, Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning
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…
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/ Administrative Law, Civil Procedure, Environmental Law
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 &…
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/ Civil Procedure, Civil Remedies, Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning
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…
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/ Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law
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…
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/ Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law
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…
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/ Education Law, Environmental Law, Real Estate - Residential, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
Regular readers of this blog have already noted my particular enthusiasm for creativity in legal arguments. I am not a judge (Hi Judge Galvin!), but if I were, I would be sorely tempted to pattern my unique brand of judicating…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning
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…
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/ Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment Law
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…
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/ Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Toxic Torts
On June 28th, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (Loper Bright) and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce (Relentless), overruling its own 1984 decision in Chevron v. Natural…
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/ Administrative Law, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Environmental Law
Introduction - On March 29, 2024, the First District Court of Appeal issued its partially published opinion in the case of Vichy Springs Resort, Inc. v. City of Ukiah (2024) 101 Cal.App.5th 46…
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/ Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
This blog has previously mentioned the most common question we hear when people find out we work in probate litigation: “What can I do to make sure my family doesn’t fight over my property after I die?” Because I am a…
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/ Civil Procedure, Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning
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…
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/ Administrative Law, Environmental Law
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…
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/ Administrative Law, Insurance
In a highly-anticipated case revolving around development impact fees, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, 144 S.Ct. 893 (2024) that legislatively-imposed conditions on building permits are…
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/ Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
