Somach Simmons & Dunn | Attorneys at Law
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On July 20, 2020, California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal published an opinion that may have far-reaching consequences for public agencies conducting environmental analysis under the California Environmental Quality Act ... read more
The latest Supreme Court opinion on Indian law could have implications for jurisdiction over water rights administration and other natural resources in the West. In the 5-4 decision McGirt v. ... read more
On April 20, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court (Court) announced that state courts may hear state-law claims imposing independent cleanup obligations on Superfund site owners, but for sites where a ... read more
The California Supreme Court clarified an ambiguous statute and the test for what is considered a project under the California Environmental Quality Act in its recent decision in Union of ... read more
In a decision with potentially far-reaching implications for future litigation affecting tribal property, the Ninth Circuit dismissed on sovereign immunity grounds an environmental challenge to reauthorization of coal mining activities ... read more
Last week, the United States Supreme Court overruled a prior decision that required property owners alleging a taking of their property without just compensation by a state or local government ... read more
In light of the massive liability facing public utilities from California’s myriad of forest fires, the Governor is proposing new legislation that will reform wildfire liability law. Meanwhile, an innovative ... read more
Several members of the House of Representatives have proposed bills seeking to reform the Endangered Species Act (ESA) before the end of this legislative session. Enacted 45 years ago, the ... read more
With the regulations already under review by the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (Services) recently agreed to reconsider regulations that ... read more
Last week, Monsanto Company, the leading manufacturer of the herbicide glyphosate, along with eleven state and national agricultural industry groups (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) filed suit against the State of California challenging ... read more
On Thursday, September 14, 2017, Judge Morrison England of the Eastern District of California upheld a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) decision to transfer 853 acres of land in Yolo ... read more
In a decision that could have lasting impacts on future litigation over California High Speed Rail, the California Supreme Court held last week that the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) ... read more
On July 6, 2017, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Lynch v. California Coastal Commission (July 6, 2017, S221980), in which it held that homeowners that obtained a ... read more
In Residents Against Specific Plan 380 v. County of Riverside (Mar. 15, 2017, E063292) __ Cal.App.5th __, the Fourth Appellate District rejected a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) challenge brought ... read more
On November 28, 2016, Judge Lloyd Hicks of the Tulare County Superior Court overturned Kern County’s ban of the land application of biosolids (also known as treated sewage sludge) on ... read more
On September 19, 2016, the California Supreme Court held that an agency is required to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) whenever there is substantial evidence that the changes to ... read more
Under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. § 500 et seq.), final agency actions are subject to judicial review when there is no other adequate remedy in court. So, ... read more
On April 3, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California invalidated an Endangered Species Act (ESA) incidental take permit (ITP) where it found the U.S. Fish ... read more
On March 30, 2015, the Second District Court of Appeal issued its decision in Conway v. State Water Resources Control Board (Mar. 30, 2015, B252688) ___ Cal.App.4th ___, finding that ... read more
On February 18, 2015, the Fourth District Court of Appeal rejected numerous California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) challenges to the City of San Diego’s (City) coastal and site development permits ... read more
On March 2, 2015, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in Berkeley Hillside Preservation v. City of Berkeley. The Supreme Court ruled that the “substantial evidence” test applies to ... read more
On September 9, 2014, the Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District held in Rominger v. County of Colusa that approval of a subdivision map is a California Environmental ... read more
In coordinated proceedings, the California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District holds that the California Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) entries onto hundreds of Delta properties for the ... read more
State regulation of Transportation Refrigeration Units (TRUs) increasingly requires additional compliance attention for owners and operators of TRUs, as well as other entities that use or house TRUs. In particular, ... read more
