In 3Pak LLC v. City of Seattle, published May 5, 2026, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s dismissal of a lawsuit brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Washington State law. During the 2020 protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd, protestors occupied a…
In Sheyn v. Ventura County Public Works Agency et al., published February 20, 2025, the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 6 reversed a dismissal of an inverse condemnation lawsuit on demurrer. The plaintiff grew avocados. The defendant district is a publicly-owned utility that provides water to the plaintiff and other property owners. The plaintiff's property is…
In Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, California, published April 12, 2024, the United States Supreme Court reversed the decision of a California Court of Appeal. The plaintiff wanted to build a small prefabricated home on his residential parcel of land for his grandson to live in. The General Plan that the county board of supervisors…
In Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, California, published April 12, 2024, the United States Supreme Court reversed the decision of a California Court of Appeal. The plaintiff wanted to build a small prefabricated home on his residential parcel of land for his grandson to live in. The General Plan that the county board of supervisors…
In Gearing v. City of Half Moon Bay, published December 8, 2022, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court decision granting the defendant city's motion to abstain under Railroad Commission of Texas v. Pullman Co. (1941) 312 U.S. 496 from hearing the plaintiffs' regulatory takings case while the city's eminent domain suit regarding…
In Today's IV, Inc. v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, published October 5, 2022, the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 8 affirmed judgment in favor of the defendant authority after demurrer and motion for judgment on the pleadings. The plaintiff owns the Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The only access to the hotel's…
In Foley Investments, L.P. v. Alisal Water Corp., published December 9, 2021, the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 1 affirmed judgment in favor of a water utility entered after a bench trial. The utility's usual practice is to run a service line from one of the utility's mains to a meter at the property's boundary, from…
In Duncan v. Bonta, published November 30, 2021, a divided en banc panel reversed a grant of summary judgment to plaintiffs challenging the State of California's amendment of Penal Code section 32310 to prohibit possession of large-capacity magazines, defined as those that can hold more than ten rounds of ammunition. The ban exempts certain persons, such…
In Pakdel v. City and County of San Francisco, published June 28, 2021, the U.S.U.S. Supreme Court, per curiam vacated and remanded a 9th Circuit decision. Plaintiffs challenged a city requirement that they offer a tenant in a tenancy-in-common a lifetime lease as a condition of converting to condominium ownership. The city refused to exempt them…
In Hotop v. City of San Jose, published December 7, 2020, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court decision dismissing a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 lawsuit after the court offered plaintiffs a chance to amend their complaint and the plaintiffs chose to stand on their unamended pleading. The defendant city passed an ordinance…