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 Citizens for Free Speech v. County of Alameda, published March 24, 2020, the 9th Circuit affirmed a district court decision dismissing a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 lawsuit based on Younger abstention, and awarding the defendant county attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. section 1988 on the ground the suit was frivolous. The plaintiff entered into an agreement…
In Black v. City of Palos Verdes, published September 6, 2018, the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 1 affirmed the trial court's decision denying a petition for a writ of mandate and finding that the defendant city's moratorium on construction in a landslide area was not a regulatory taking. The city had areas where ancient…
In The Kennedy Commission v. City of Huntington Beach, published October 31, 2017, the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 2 reversed a trial court writ striking down the respondent city's amendment to its specific housing plan as void ab initio because it was inconsistent with the city's general plan. Government Code section 65454, which requires…
In Lynch v. California Coastal Commission, published July 6, 2017, the California Supreme Court affirmed a lower appellate court decision reversing an administrative mandamus writ issued by a trial court. The plaintiff homeowners sought a permit from the California Coastal Commission permitting them to build a seawall to protect their blufftop properties, replacing a damaged seawall,…
In Real v. City of Long Beach, published March 29, 2017, the 9th Circuit reversed a judgment against a plaintiff who brought a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action challenging the defendant city's tattoo parlor zoning ordinances as violating the First Amendment. The ordinances disallow tattoo shops in most of the City, require a conditional use…