Your Resource for What's New in CEQA Law and Litigation
In Jamul Action Committee v. Chaudhuri, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 13104, the Ninth Circuit held that the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) did not apply to the Jamul Indian Village Casino project in Jamul, California due to an irreconcilable timing conflict between NEPA and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
The Jamul Indian Village (Tribe),…
In Duarte Nursery, Inc. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76037, the Eastern District of California granted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (“Corps”) motion for summary judgment, finding that Duarte Nursery (“Nursery”) had violated the federal Clean Water Act (“Act”) by moving dirt around its property as part…
In 2012, the City of Kingsburg began the process of annexing approximately 430 acres of land in Fresno County, including developed land that was home to three major facilities: a glass manufacturing plant, a grape processing facility, and a raisin processing plant. The land proposed for annexation separates the City of Kingsburg from the City…
On July 18, 2016, in a 54-page opinion, Judge Wong of the San Francisco Superior Court delivered a decisive victory to the respondents and real parties in interest in the litigation concerning the proposed Golden State Warriors arena in Mission Bay Alliance v. Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure. Thomas Law Group represented…
Note: the Supreme Court granted a request for depublication of this opinion on August 22, 2016. See here.
On June 17, 2016, the Fourth Appellate District modified its recently published opinion, People for Proper Planning v. City of Palm Springs. As modified, the opinion now cites to last year’s Supreme Court decision Berkeley…
In Idaho Conservation League v. Bonneville Power Administration, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 11175, the Ninth Circuit rejected a National Environmental Protection Act (“NEPA”) challenge to changes in the operation of the Albeni Falls Dam.
The Dam, constructed in 1957 as part of the Federal Columbia River Power System, helps provide power to the Pacific Northwest.…
On June 21, 2016, the First Appellate District partially published its opinion for Ukiah Citizens for Safety First v. City of Ukiah (Case No. A145581). The case involved a citizen group’s petition for writ of mandate challenging the certification of an environmental impact report (EIR) by the City of Ukiah (City) for the construction of…
In United States Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes, 578 U.S. __ (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the Eighth Circuit and held that an approved jurisdictional determination (“JD”) issued under the federal Clean Water Act (“Act”) by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (“Corps”) is a final agency action that can be challenged in…
In an unpublished opinion, Malibu Community Alliance v. City of Malibu, 2016 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 3116, Division Seven of the Second Appellate District adjudicated a challenge to development permits granted by the City of Malibu (City) to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (District) for the installation of athletic field lights at Malibu…
Thomas Law Group Associates Chris Butcher and Ashle Crocker will host a special presentation on CEQA Streamlining at the Superior California Chapter of the Association of Environmental Professionals May 2016 Program on May 17, 2015 from 11:30 to 1:00 pm.
The program will be at Blue Prynt Restaurant, 815 11th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 and…
