On September 17, 2015, the California First District Court of Appeal struck another blow to the beleaguered 8 Washington Street Project in Defend Our Waterfront v. California State Lands Commission, 2015 Cal. App. LEXIS 817, when it upheld the trial court’s ruling that a necessary land transfer between the State Lands Commission and the City…

The California Supreme Court has depublished the Fourth Appellate District’s June 17, 2015 opinion in Paulek v. Western Riverside County Regional Conservation (2015) 238 Cal.App.4th 583 (Paulek).

The Paulek opinion erroneously stated that “when determining whether a categorical exemption applies, the question is whether a fair argument has been made that the project…

Following rehearing on its own motion, the Fourth District Court of Appeal again reversed and remanded a case involving the closure of two public schools in the Barstow Unified School District (“BUSD” or “District”). (Save Our Schools v. Barstow Unified School Dist., 2015 Cal.App.LEXIS 779.) The court had previously vacated its July 14,…

After months of anticipation, the Supreme Court issued its ruling on City of San Diego v. Trustees of the California State University, S199557, affirming the appellate court’s ruling that the California State University (CSU) should have evaluated one or more possible project modifications to its Project to reduce or avoid unmitigated off-site traffic impacts.…

The California Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded a case involving the closure of two public schools in the Barstow Unified School District (BUSD). In Save Our Schools v. Barstow Unified School Dist., 2015 Cal.App.Unpub. LEXIS 4926, Save Our Schools (SOS) sued BUSD over the closure of two schools. BUSD closed the…

The action in County of Humboldt v. McKee, 2015 Cal. Unpub. LEXIS 4177, began when plaintiffs Humboldt County (County) sued Robert McKee and Buck Mountain Ranch Limited Partnership (collectively McKee). The original litigation (McKee I) involved McKee’s purchase of a property in Humboldt County which he then subdivided and sold. The property…

In 2005, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) designated the Green Sturgeon as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). When a species is considered threatened, under ESA, agencies are required to designate critical habitat for that species. Critical habitat is land that is essential to the conservation of the species and may…

Petition for Review Granted

July 9, 2014

Current Status

Fully briefed by the parties as of November 26, 2014.

Amicus briefing complete as of March 16, 2015.

The Court Ordered the Attorney General, or an appropriate state agency to be identified by the Attorney General, to serve and file an amicus curiae brief on or…

Petition for Review Granted

December 10, 2014

Current Status

Fully briefed by the parties as of April 30, 2015.

Amicus briefing in progress.

Court’s Statement of Issues Presented

The court will consider two issues:

  1. Does the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act (ICCTA) (49 U.S.C. § 10101 et seq.) preempt the application of the California Environmental

…

In City of Irvine v. County of Orange, (July 6, 2015, G049527)__Cal.App.4th__, the Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed the adequacy of a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) prepared approximately 16 years after the original EIR was adopted. The court granted publication on July 7, 2015.

The dispute began in 1996 when the City…