[WEBINAR] Who Does What? Defining Proper Roles for Staff and Elected Officials
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court held that PAGA does not apply to public entity employers....more
In litigation underlying Satcher v. Columbia County, 2024 WL 3802370 (Ga. Aug. 13, 2024), property owners sued the County related to damage caused by their privately-owned 48-inch pipe that had been used as part of the...more
The Illinois Appellate Court recently issued a new decision regarding the FOIA. In Kraft v. Chicago Police Department, the Court ruled in favor of the police department, finding it properly exempted records as unduly...more
In Houston Community College System v. Wilson, the United States Supreme Court held that a public body’s verbal censure of a fellow board member did not violate the board member’s First Amendment rights. The censure followed...more
In Nelson (City) v Marchi, 2021 SCC 41, the Supreme Court of Canada held that public authorities may only be shielded from liability in negligence when making decisions that engage public policy considerations, such as...more
In Sargent v. Board of Trustees of the California State University, the California Court of Appeal highlighted an important distinction between Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims asserted against a public entity...more
A popular topic on this blog is standing in the context of a challenge to a municipal determination, primarily under the State Environmental Quality Review Act. A recent case issued by the Appellate Division, Second...more
A recent Illinois Appellate Court case appears to have closed a loophole through which some school districts and other public entities have avoided liability for work performed by construction companies under invalid...more
We recently reported on the California Supreme Court’s decision in Oroville which provided a relaxed standard for public agencies facing inverse condemnation claims. Since that decision, a new unpublished Court of Appeal...more
On April 4, 2019, the Colorado Court of Appeals issued its decision in Houchin v. Denver Health and Hospital Authority, holding that under 2013 amendments to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), state employees may...more
While the Ralph M. Brown Act provides a “committee exception” to the public comment requirement for public entities’ regular meetings, the exception does not apply to special meetings, a California appellate court said in a...more
The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act (the “Act”) limits the liability of public bodies for claims of negligence, including in cases based on performance of discretionary functions. ...more
Public entities can place reasonable time restrictions on public comment at their meetings as long as the time restrictions do not violate state or federal law, a California appellate court said in a fairly sweeping decision....more
Woodrow Wilson Constr. LLC v. Orleans Par. Sch. Bd., 2018 La. App. LEXIS 762 (April 18, 2018) - The Orleans Parish School Board (“OPSB”) awarded a prime contract to Woodrow Wilson Construction (“WWC”) for the construction...more
Trail immunity has been examined by the appellate courts numerous times over the past 18 months, most recently in Arvizu v. City of Pasadena, where the plaintiff entered a public park after hours and injured himself when he...more
Private hospitals commonly associate with public entities in running a variety of programs. These collaborations raise the question in civil rights litigation of whether and when the private hospital is a state actor. Under...more
Following the February 8, 2017 Appellate Division decision in Kean Federation of Teachers v. Morell, public bodies must review their processes for issuing Rice notices and making available meeting minutes to the public. ...more
A public body must respond to a FOIA request within five days, but the Michigan Court of Appeals has opined that there is no obligation to produce the requested information within that timeframe. In a June 23, 2016,...more
A recent ruling regarding South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act is one to note. It came on February 22 in DomainsNewMedia.com vs. Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce....more
In a novel and somewhat convoluted fact pattern, the California Court of Appeal yet again sent a loud and clear message: The purpose of the California Public Records Act ("CPRA") is to monitor governmental activities despite...more
In California eminent domain cases, a property or business owner is entitled to recover litigation expenses (attorneys' fees and expert costs) when the public agency's final offer of compensation is unreasonable and the...more
One Holds that the Fee is Subject to Prop. 26 and Another that it is a Property-Related Fee Subject to Prop. 218 - Two California Appellate Court decisions handed down this month address whether or not a local water...more
California’s infrastructure is aging. There have been numerous reports of water line breaks and gas line leaks, and public agencies have been moving quickly to upgrade their utilities to minimize these risks and satisfy...more
In Suarez v. City of Corona, 2014 DJDAR 12101, the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District decided an interesting case concerning the interpretation of California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1038....more
In a published decision filed September 24, 2014, the Third District Court of Appeal (per Justice Robie) held that CEQA’s definition of a “public agency” that is subject to its requirements (see Pub. Resources Code, § 21063)...more