When entering into construction contracts, the question of which state’s laws will govern is a pivotal consideration. Choice of law has real-world implications for how construction disputes are resolved. Different states have...more
On February 14, 2024, in Schaad v. Alder, the Supreme Court of Ohio upheld the constitutionality of a temporary Ohio law allowing municipalities where a principal place of business was located to collect income tax from...more
The Ohio Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Schaad v. Alder, Slip Opinion No. 2024-Ohio-525, decided on February 14, 2024. ...more
Recently, the City of Denver’s Department of Public Health and Environment (DDPHE) ordered, among other things, the destruction of Titan Health LLC’s (Titan Health) marijuana plants that it deemed to “hav[e] evidence of...more
On September 7 the District of Columbia Court of Appeals reached an important issue about the D.C. Anti-SLAPP Act that it had reserved a few months earlier. In Banks v. Hoffman, the Court held “the discovery-limiting aspects...more
History - On December 14, 1819, Alabama was granted statehood after previously being part of the Mississippi and Alabama territories. The first Alabama constitution was drafted and passed at a convention in Huntsville,...more
One of the fundamental home rule powers of Ohio municipalities is the ability to own and operate public utilities to serve their communities. Many Ohio municipalities exercise this home rule power by operating their own...more
In a major recent decision, the California Court of Appeal rejected a city’s interpretation of what constitutes an “objective” standard under the Housing Accountability Act (HAA), Government Code section 65589.5, and upheld...more
On April 20, 2021, the First District Court of Appeal filed its first published opinion interpreting California Senate Bill 35’s streamlining provisions in Ruegg & Ellsworth v. City of Berkeley. The Court held that the City...more
Senate Bill 35 (Government Code section 65913.4) was enacted in 2017 as part of an effort by the State Legislature to increase housing production. The law compels local agencies, including charter cities, to issue streamlined...more
After an extended and significant debate on Tuesday, April 6, the DC Council approved a delay in the Mayor’s submission of the FY2022 District budget to May 27, 2021. This is not the first time the budget has been delayed....more
COVID-19 and the lifeline of “emergency” and “temporary” legislation in Washington, D.C. To this day, Congress retains a legislative veto over the D.C. Council’s actions, supported by the Constitution. “Emergency”...more
On March 15, 2020, the long-awaited Paid Sick Days Act of the City of Pittsburgh (the Act) will go into effect. Originally enacted by the city in 2015, it took a 2019 decision of the state Supreme Court to re-define the...more
Indisputably, 2019 was an important year for housing in California. As we noted in our prior blog post, Governor Newsom signed legislation creating statewide rent control, preventing discrimination against people paying rent...more
California Appellate Court Says Charter City Cannot Block California Values Act - In a significant decision addressing the tension between charter city “home rule” authority and state law, a California appellate court...more
In Anderson v. City of San Jose (2019), the Sixth District Court of Appeal held that California’s charter cities must comply with the Surplus Land Act (Govt. Code § 54220 et seq.). This decision, essentially, ruled that the...more
American politics at the national level frequently involve conflicts over federalism and the allocation of authority between the federal government and state governments. On a smaller scale, the Ohio Constitution contains...more
With next year’s presidential election on the horizon, it is easy for voters to overlook next week’s odd-year election. On Tuesday, November 5, Colorado voters will select local government officials and school board members,...more
In The City of Cleveland v. The State of Ohio, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld Ohio Revised Code 9.75, which prohibits a public authority from requiring a contractor to “employ as laborers a certain number or percentage of...more
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways CEO Rupert Hogg has resigned in order to “take responsibility” a week “after the carrier was rebuked by China for staff involvement in the anti-Beijing protests rocking Hong Kong.” Hogg...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On Wednesday, July 17, 2019, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed trial and appellate court rulings that found the Pittsburgh Paid Sick Days Act—first enacted in August 2015—in violation of state law....more
Ohio’s efforts to substantially simplify its municipal income tax regime – a much-needed reform – is permitted to move forward. Ohio instituted municipal income tax reform, which took effect with the 2018 tax year, permitted...more
RESIDENCY QUOTAS FOR CITY CONTRACTORS - OHIO SUPREME COURT TO HEAR ARGUMENTS IN MARCH. THE CASE: On March 6, 2019, the Supreme Court of Ohio is set to hear oral arguments on City of Cleveland v. State of Ohio, Supreme...more
The Second District Court of Appeal has held that California’s minimum wage law is a matter of statewide concern and hence applies to charter cities as well as general law cities. Marquez v. City of Long Beach, No. B282270...more
On Jan. 3, 2019, a litigation team consisting of Rich Benenson, Doug Friednash and Joshua Weiss from Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck succeeded in an appeal challenging the jurisdiction of Colorado’s Independent Ethics...more