In People ex rel. Bonta v. County of Lake (2024) 105 Cal.App.5th 1222, the First District Court of Appeal held that the Final EIR (“FEIR”) and associated errata for a proposed mixed-use development project, located in a rural part of Lake
Downey Brand LLP
Downey Brand LLP Blogs
Latest from Downey Brand LLP
Godoy v. Linzner and the Lawyer’s Duty to Shut Down a Bad Idea
Under universally accepted law, across every jurisdiction, lawyers owe vital and concrete duties to their clients. The duty of confidentiality. The duty of loyalty. The duty to disclose. And, greatest of all, the duty to inform your clients when their…
Downey Brand Victory: EIR Upheld for Sand and Gravel Mine; Lead Agency Allowed to Recover Administrative Record Costs
In Yolo Land and Water Defense v. the County of Yolo (2024 105 Cal.App.5th 710, the Third District Court of Appeal upheld the County’s EIR for a sand and gravel mine, known as the Teichert Shifler Mining and Reclamation Project.…
CEQA Legislative Fix For State Capitol Renovation Upheld, All Work Performed Exempt
In Save Our Capitol! v. Dept. of Gen Servs. (2024) 105 Cal.App.5th 828—the third appeal challenging renovations and additions to the State Capitol (Project) under CEQA—the Third District Court of Appeal rejected petitioner’s challenges to the revised EIR for the…
Hello Again from NAFSMA
If you don’t recall, NAFSMA is the National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies, and I am attending NAFSMA’s 46th annual conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado.Today I had the pleasure of addressing the attendees as part of the legal…
“Live from Colorado Springs, it’s NAFSMA!”
It’s “what?” you might ask. NAFSMA, the National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies, was formed 46 years ago as a place where public agencies in the flood and stormwater space could come together, learn from each other, and partner…
Alleged CEQA Abuse not Actionable under RICO Says Ninth Circuit
In Relevant Grp., LLC v. Nourmand (9th Cir. Sep. 5, 2024, No. 23-55574) 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 22559, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals narrowed the applicability of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) in addressing abuse of CEQA…
Grossman v. Wakeman, Ethical Dilemmas, and What We Owe Our Clients
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 Court, appellate…
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 be filed.
When a party…
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 & Order, I’m guessing.) For example, in…