California Municipal Law Blog
category:
Recent Court Decisions
by Sean D. De Burgh on January 29, 2016
posted in
Immunities, Recent Court Decisions,
In a favorable ruling for public agencies, the Sixth Appellate District recently held that the Regents of the University of California were not liable for the death of a University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) student who was killed along the Great Meadow Parkway in a fatal bicycle accident as he was returning home from an evening class. (Burgueno v. The Regents of the University of California.) The student’s family alleged dangerous condition of public property and wrongful death, asserting that the bikeway was unsafe in light of its downhill curve, sight limitations, lack of runoff ... Continue Reading
tags:
Dual Use, Immunities, Public use trails, Recreational Use,
by Derek P. Cole on November 16, 2015
posted in
CEQA, Recent Court Decisions,
The California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) exempts governmental actions to protect natural resources and the environment from the requirement to prepare an environmental impact report. In a recent case, a court clarified what standard agencies must meet to justify the use of these exemptions, known by practitioners as the “Class 7” and “Class 8” exemptions.
In Save Our Big Trees v. City of Santa Cruz, the San Jose-based Sixth District Court of Appeal held that a city’s use of both exemptions could not be used to justify amendment of its heritage tree ordinance, which was ... Continue Reading
tags:
CEQA, Class 7 Exemption, Class 8 Exemption, Heritage Tree Ordinance,
by Derek P. Cole on November 2, 2015
posted in
Eminent Domain, Recent Court Decisions, Subdivisions,
When government condemns a strip of land across a single parcel of property for a public improvement (such as a road), does the condemnation create two legal parcels (one on each side of the strip)? No, says a recent appellate court opinion. In Save Mount Diablo v. Contra Costa County, the court held that the physical separation of land by condemnation does not “divide” the land under the Subdivision Map Act (“Map Act”).
... Continue Reading
tags:
Certificates of Compliance, Condemnation, Court Ruling, Eminent Domain, Lawful Parcel, Subdivision Map Act,
by Derek P. Cole on August 17, 2015
posted in
Damages, Public Works, Recent Court Decisions, Streets and Sidewalks,
A car driving along a road is sideswiped by another car, causing it to veer into a median and hit a tree. Tragically, all but one of the car’s occupants is killed; the sole survivor is seriously injured. Although the driver of the other car was clearly at fault, the city that maintained the tree is sued under the theory that the tree’s placement in the median was a “dangerous condition of public property.” Can the city be held liable?
Yes, says the State Supreme Court. In Cordova v. City of Los Angeles, the Court held that local agencies may be liable for a dangerous condition of ... Continue Reading
tags:
automobile accident, causation, city trees, medians, negligence, Public Beautification Programs,
by Derek P. Cole on August 10, 2015
posted in
Public Records Act, Recent Court Decisions,
When an agency mistakenly releases privileged documents in response to a Public Records Act (“PRA”) request, it does not waive the privilege it possesses in those documents. So ruled the San Francisco-Based First District Court of Appeal on July 31, 2015 in Newark Unified School District v. Superior Court. The court’s ruling contradicts the December 2014 holding of the Los-Angeles Based Second District Court of Appeal in Ardon v. City of Los Angeles. That court held that once privileged documents are released, agencies effectively waive any privilege attached to them, and cannot demand ... Continue Reading
tags:
Ardon v. Los Angeles, Attorney-Client Privilege, California Supreme Court, Mistaken Disclosure, Newark Unified School District, Public Records Act,
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