by Derek P. Cole on July 27, 2015
posted in
Meetings, Recent Court Decisions,
What happens when a meeting agenda refers to the wrong legal authority for a closed-session item an agency considers? If it’s clear to the public what action the agency may take, there is no Brown Act violation. According to a recent court opinion, which dismissed a lawsuit as “hypertechnical,” a mistaken code reference used to describe a closed-session item does not prevent the agency from acting. (Castaic Lake Water Agency v. Newhall County Water District, published July 22, 2015.)
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tags:
Agendas, Brown Act, Closed Sessions, Initiation of Litigation,
by Derek P. Cole on January 26, 2015
posted in
Recent Court Decisions, Zoning,
A cellular carrier applies for entitlements to erect a cell tower that a city council finds objectionable. The council wishes to deny the application. How and when must the council communicate the reasons for the denial to the applicant?
In T-Mobile South, LLC v. City of Roswell, the United States Supreme Court answered these questions. It confirmed that denials of cell tower applications must be in writing, but not necessarily in a specific format, such as a formal statement of denial. The Court also clarified that the denial must be communicated about the same time as the denial is made.
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tags:
Cell Towers, Telecommunications Act of 1996,
by David G. Ritchie on January 24, 2015
posted in
Employee Benefits, Recent Court Decisions, Retirement,
The California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, recently held, in Deputy Sheriffs’ Association of San Diego County v. County of San Diego, that the implementation of new defined benefit formula provisions for “new members” does not impermissibly impair agreements with employee groups where the pre-existing agreements contain conflicting terms.
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tags:
CalPERS, MOUs, PEPRA, retirement benefits,
by Derek P. Cole on December 15, 2014
posted in
Public Records Act, Recent Court Decisions,
Be careful not to disclose privileged documents in response to a Public Records Act (“PRA”) request. According to a recent court decision, such disclosures waive any applicable privilege—even if the disclosure is mistaken.
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tags:
Disclosure, PRA, Privilege, Public Records Act,
