Author Info for Downey Brand LLP

Joshua B. Bailey

Senate Bill 607 and Potential Sweeping Changes to CEQA

This year, over fifty bills were introduced in the Legislature that directly addressed a CEQA issue. Many died in committee, or failed to make it out of their respective houses. The vast majority of those that advanced sought…more

Affordable Housing, California, CEQA, Clean Energy, Environmental Litigation

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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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Brian Cragg

CAISO Responds to Load Growth, Proposes $4.6 Billion of New Transmission Facilities To Boost Reliability

In its 2024–2025 Draft Transmission Plan (Draft Plan) released on March 31, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) proposed the development of 31 new transmission projects with an estimated cost of $4.8 billion. Of…more

California, Clean Energy, Energy Policy, Energy Projects, Infrastructure

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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

Employers May See an Increase in Title VII Discrimination Claims

Recently, the Supreme Court issued an opinion that lowered the bar for employees seeking to sue their employer. In Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, a heterosexual white woman claimed that she suffered discrimination…more

Ames v Ohio Department of Youth Services, Anti-Discrimination Policies, Employee Rights, Employees, Employer Liability Issues

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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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Daria Gossett

Employers May See an Increase in Title VII Discrimination Claims

Recently, the Supreme Court issued an opinion that lowered the bar for employees seeking to sue their employer. In Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, a heterosexual white woman claimed that she suffered discrimination…more

Ames v Ohio Department of Youth Services, Anti-Discrimination Policies, Employee Rights, Employees, Employer Liability Issues

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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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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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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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Clifton J. McFarland

Court Overturns Prop 65 Acrylamide Warning

On May 2, a federal district court in Sacramento permanently enjoined the Prop 65 warning for acrylamide in food, finding it to be unconstitutional. At issue in the case, California Chamber of Commerce v. Bonta (E.D. Cal. No…more

California, Commercial Speech, Constitutional Challenges, First Amendment, Food Manufacturers

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Sean McKissick

Gambling, Racehorses, and Protecting Your Loved Ones from Testamentary Fraud: They Have More in Common Than You Think

A question for you: do you have an estate plan? Of course you do, everyone needs an estate plan. Second question: who is(are) the beneficiary(ies) of your estate plan? Someone you love and trust, I presume. Perhaps a spouse, or…more

Beneficiaries, Elder Abuse, Estate Planning, Fraud, Guardianships

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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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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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Sarah Nagle

Indispensable Party: First District Rules Petitioner’s Failure to Join Real Party in Interest Necessitates Dismissal of Action

In Citizens for a Better Eureka v. City of Eureka (2025) __ Cal. App. 5th __, the First District Court of Appeal affirmed a judgment dismissing a CEQA action that challenged an approval for the redevelopment of a City of Eureka…more

Affordable Housing, Appeals, California, CEQA, Environmental Litigation

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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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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

Dismantling BRIC, Brick By Brick

Several years ago, many of us were stunned to learn how much funding would run through FEMA’s BRIC program (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities). Traditionally, significant money only ran through the U.S. Army…more

Construction Industry, Construction Project, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Funding, Federal Grants

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Andrew Skanchy

Indispensable Party: First District Rules Petitioner’s Failure to Join Real Party in Interest Necessitates Dismissal of Action

In Citizens for a Better Eureka v. City of Eureka (2025) __ Cal. App. 5th __, the First District Court of Appeal affirmed a judgment dismissing a CEQA action that challenged an approval for the redevelopment of a City of Eureka…more

Affordable Housing, Appeals, California, CEQA, Environmental Litigation

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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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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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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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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

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