Articles

Homeowners in Lynch file petition for rehearing in California Supreme Court

July 21, 2017 | By JEREMY TALCOTT

Today, Thomas Frick and the heirs of Barbara Lynch filed this petition, asking the California Supreme Court to grant rehearing in Lynch v. California Coastal Commission. In that decision, the Court held that the two owners had forfeited their right to judicial review of conditions placed on a coastal permit. The owners had asked the California Co ...

Articles

PLF appeals cap and trade auction ruling to California Supreme Court

May 17, 2017 | By TONY FRANCOIS

Yesterday, on behalf of our clients in Morning Star Packing Company v. California Air Resources Board, we filed our Petition for Review in the California Supreme Court, asking the state high court to review and reverse the court of appeal’s decision that the billions of dollars that companies like Morning Star Packing Co must pay … ...

Articles

California supreme court declines to hear due process appeal

January 26, 2017 | By TONY FRANCOIS

Sometimes life comes at you fast. Just last week we reported on our letter asking the California Supreme Court to grant review in Drakes Bay Oyster Company v. California Coastal Commission, to decide whether an enforcement agency can compromise its constitutionally required neutrality by putting its decidedly biased enforcement staff in charge of d ...

Articles

PLF asks California Supreme Court to hear due process case against Coastal Commission

January 22, 2017 | By TONY FRANCOIS

PLF recently filed a friend of the court letter with the California Supreme Court, encouraging the justices to grant review in an important due process challenge against the California Coastal Commission. The Coastal Commission brought a highly questionable enforcement action against our friends at Drakes Bay Oyster Company, accusing the company o ...

Articles

Causation, and not deep pockets, should dictate liability

November 30, 2016 | By ANASTASIA BODEN

Today we filed this amicus brief asking the California Supreme Court to overturn the flawed decision in T.H. v. Novartis, which would essentially impose never-ending tort liability on brand-name drug manufacturers for injuries caused by their generic counterparts.  By adopting an expansive theory of liability, the law threatens to drive up the cos ...

Articles

California’s high court will review pension "spiking" case

November 30, 2016 | By MERIEM L. HUBBARD

Californians are accustomed to controversy when it comes to public employee pensions.  Although state and local governments across the country were left without adequate funding of pension obligations following the Great Recession of 2008-2009, California’s shortfall–estimated to be around $475 billion–was the biggest. The Cali ...

Articles

CA Supreme Court invites state to frustrate federal policy

August 22, 2016 | By JONATHAN WOOD

The California Supreme Court has issued its long-awaited decision in People v. Rinehart, concerning the legality of the state’s ban on suction dredge mining. The case concerns an apparent conflict between federal law, which encourages mining on federal lands, and the state’s ban against the only practicable method of mining stream bed c ...

Articles

City of Perris v. Stamper oral argument recap

May 30, 2016 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

On Thursday morning, the California Supreme Court heard oral arguments in City of Perris v. Stamper. See our brief in the case here and our previous blog posts on the case here and here for background information on the case. The oral arguments appeared to show that the California Supreme Court may share some of the concerns … ...

Articles

California Supreme Court limits property rights, again

June 15, 2015 | By TONY FRANCOIS

This morning the California Supreme Court released its unfavorable decision in California Building Industry Association v. City of San Jose. The issue in this case is whether a city can withhold a development permit for new housing unless the builder ‘donates’ some of the new homes at a price below the cost of building the homes. … ...