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…
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/ Civil Rights, Labor & Employment Law
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…
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/ Environmental Law, Indigenous Peoples, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
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…
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/ Environmental Law, Real Estate - Residential, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
On May 29, 2025, in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado (2025) 605 U.S. ____, the Supreme Court gave instruction that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) “is a procedural cross-check, not a…
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/ Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Transportation
In Cleveland National Forest Foundation v. County of San Diego (2025) 109 Cal. App.5th 1257, the Fourth District Court of Appeal invalidated two thresholds of significance adopted by the County of San Diego (“County”) that in…
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/ Environmental Law, Transportation, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
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…
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/ Constitutional Law, Consumer Protection, Health
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…
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/ Administrative Law, Construction Law, Government Contracting
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…
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/ Administrative Law, Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law
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…
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/ Civil Remedies, Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning
In the wake of the tragic disaster still unfolding in multiple communities of Southern California, Governor Newsom has issued an executive order (Executive Order N-4-25) intended to “expedite recovery” from the disaster by…
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/ Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
Hey everybody – it’s January! How was your New Year’s Eve? How did you celebrate? Did you go to a party? Did you host a party? Were there games at your party? What kind of games? Charades? Jenga? Maybe you went crazy and played…
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/ Civil Procedure, Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning
In Center for Biological Diversity v. County of San Benito (2024) 104 Cal.App.5th 22, the Court of Appeal held that the statute of limitations for two CEQA challenges did not begin to run until the Board of Supervisors had heard…
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/ Civil Procedure, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
On October 21st, the Second District Court of Appeal published a decision in Santa Clarita Organization etc. v. County of Los Angeles (2024) 105 Cal.App.5th 1143 that addresses the question of whether a CEQA challenge to an…
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/ Civil Procedure, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
In Westside Los Angeles Neighbors Network v. City of Los Angeles (2024) 104 Cal.App.5th 223, the Second District held that the City of Los Angeles Planning Commission (“Commission”) was a decision-making body authorized to…
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/ Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
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…
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/ Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
