| Case # | Name | Category | Court | Judge | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
23-2443
|
U.S. v. Korotkiy
Chief Engineer of foreign-flagged ship may be held criminally liable for inaccurate records of "oily bilge water" dumping in U.S. waters. |
Maritime Law, Environmental Law |
|
S. Mendoza | Oct. 14, 2024 |
|
C101151
|
Save Our Capitol! v. Dept. of General Services
Senate Bill 174--which limited Plaintiffs' CEQA challenges to a project concerning changes to the State Capitol--did not violate Article IV, Section 28 of the California Constitution. |
Environmental Law, Constitutional Law |
|
S. Boulware Eurie | Oct. 9, 2024 |
|
A167698
|
Modification: Sunflower Alliance v. California Dept. of Conservation
Project to convert an oil well, which formerly pumped oil and water from an aquifer, into an injection well, which would pump excess water back into the aquifer, was a CEQA exempt negligible change. |
Environmental Law |
|
G. Burns | Oct. 9, 2024 |
|
C099086
|
Yolo Land and Water Defense v. County of Yolo (Teichert Inc.)
Although petitioner elected to prepare the administrative record, County was properly awarded costs for preparing documents requested pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act. |
Environmental Law |
|
L. Mauro | Oct. 7, 2024 |
|
F084229
|
California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition v. State Air Resources Bd.
Rejection of particular proposed alternative to proposed regulation did not violate CEQA where the alternative was fundamentally opposed to the regulation's purpose and other reasonable alternatives were considered and rejected. |
Environmental Law |
|
B. Hill | Sep. 26, 2024 |
|
23-55469
|
Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation v. Naples Restaurant Group, LLC
Plaintiff's Clean Water Act case was rendered moot after defendant obtained necessary permit to allow for fireworks display over Los Angeles' bay. |
Environmental Law |
|
P. Bumatay | Sep. 19, 2024 |
|
E078241
|
Upland Community First v. City of Upland
Where substantial scientific and factual evidence supported project's use of emission's threshold amount, trial court erred in concluding otherwise. |
Environmental Law |
|
R. Fields | Sep. 17, 2024 |
|
A167698
|
Sunflower Alliance v. California Dept. of Conservation
Project to convert an oil well, which formerly pumped oil and water from an aquifer, into an injection well, which would pump excess water back into the aquifer, was a CEQA exempt negligible change. |
Environmental Law |
|
G. Burns | Sep. 10, 2024 |
|
B320547
|
Westside Los Angeles Neighbors Network v. City of Los Angeles
Despite being a non-elected body, the City of LA's Planning Commission had authority under CEQA to approve multi-component project's final environmental impact report. |
Environmental Law |
|
B. Currey | Aug. 21, 2024 |
|
H051322
|
Center for Biological Diversity v. County of San Benito
Trial court erred in ruling parties' writ petition in CEQA action as time-barred where it calculated the statutory timeframe based on the wrong notice of determination date. |
Environmental Law |
|
P. Bamattre-Manoukian | Aug. 8, 2024 |
|
A165324
|
Nassiri v. City of Lafayette
Development project was exempt from Environmental Quality Act review where project satisfied other criteria and no evidence showed the project site had value as habitat for rare or threatened species. |
Environmental Law |
|
M. Miller | Jul. 19, 2024 |
|
23A349
|
Ohio v. Environmental Protection Agency
Stay of Environmental Protection Agency's enforcement of air pollution plan while States' challenge was pending should have been granted where EPA failed to reasonably explain its action. |
Environmental Law |
|
N. Gorsuch | Jun. 28, 2024 |
|
22-35764
|
Cascadia Wildlands v. Scott Timber Co.
Environmental group's 2014 anticipatory notice to logging company of Endangered Species Act litigation was adequate notice to satisfy statutory requirements and commence a citizen suit. |
Environmental Law |
|
M. McKeown | Jun. 27, 2024 |
|
21-35881
|
Puget Soundkeeper Alliance v. Port of Tacoma
State industrial stormwater permit's plain text extended Clean Water Act discharge requirements to all discharges from the facility not just to portions where industrial activities occurred. |
Environmental Law |
|
E. Miller | Jun. 11, 2024 |
|
S279242
|
Make UC a Good Neighbor v. The Regents of the University of California
Plaintiffs' claims that environmental impact report was inadequate for failure to consider social noise and alternative sites lacked merit because of urgency legislation that amended the California Environmental Quality Act. |
Environmental Law |
|
P. Guerrero | Jun. 7, 2024 |
|
21-15163
|
Natural Resources Defense Council v. Haaland
Despite new information regarding protected species, government agencies properly followed Endangered Species Act consultation requirements. |
Environmental Law |
|
S. Ikuta | May 24, 2024 |
|
23-15492
|
Friends of the Inyo v. United States Forest Service
U.S. Forest Service was prohibited from combining two environmental Categorical Exclusions when neither would cover a proposed action alone. |
Environmental Law |
|
R. Desai | May 22, 2024 |
|
C100160
|
Save the Capitol, Save the Trees v. Dept. of General Services
Trial court erred by discharging preemptory writ of mandate without first determining whether defendant remedied CEQA compliance issues previously identified by the Court of Appeal. |
Environmental Law, Civil Procedure |
|
L. Mauro | May 16, 2024 |
|
B315256
|
People v. Plains All American Pipeline, LP
Trial court erroneously denied restitution for victims of environmental crime based on their mediated civil settlements and class action lawsuits. |
Remedies, Environmental Law |
|
H. Baltodano | May 6, 2024 |
|
23-3754
|
Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot v. State of Montana
Preliminary injunction was appropriate in Endangered Species Act lawsuit because claims raised a serious question on the merits and finding regarding threat of imminent harm was not wholly unsupported. |
Environmental Law |
|
M. Bennett | Apr. 24, 2024 |
|
22-35857
|
Amended Opinion: Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project v. Jeffries
Because the U.S. Forest Service retained control and considered several alternatives, its project replacing diseased trees with disease-resistant ones did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act. |
Environmental Law |
|
Apr. 17, 2024 | |
|
A165345
|
Vichy Springs Resort, Inc. v. City of Ukiah
For California Environmental Quality Act purposes, construction on land leased from the city may have been "discretionary" where the City was under no obligation to allow the construction. |
Environmental Law |
|
J. Goldman | Apr. 2, 2024 |
|
F084763
|
V Lions Farming, LLC v. County of Kern
Agricultural conservation easements (ACEs) qualify as compensatory mitigation for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act. |
Environmental Law |
|
D. Franson | Mar. 11, 2024 |
|
A166575
|
Safety-Kleen of California, Inc. v. Dept. of Toxic Substances Control
Department of Toxic Substances Control could find a Class I hazardous waste violation without finding the waste represented a significant threat to human health or the environment. |
Environmental Law |
|
C. Fujisaki | Mar. 6, 2024 |
|
D081124
|
Hilltop Group, Inc. v. County of San Diego
Project was exempt from environmental impact report requirements where there was not substantial evidence supporting a finding that uniform policies and procedures would not mitigate the project's potential environmental effects. |
Environmental Law |
|
T. O'Rourke | Feb. 20, 2024 |
|
D080902
|
Natural Resources Defense Council v. City of Los Angeles
Trial court's broad discretion to fashion equitable remedies for California Environmental Quality Act violations necessitated remand where it fashioned a remedy under the mistaken belief its discretion was limited. |
Environmental Law |
|
T. O'Rourke | Jan. 23, 2024 |
|
B326033
|
Guerrero v. City of Los Angeles
Trial court erred in determining project's approval date that would bar California Environmental Quality Act claim due to statute of limitations. |
Environmental Law |
|
C. Moor | Jan. 19, 2024 |
|
21-16278
|
Amended Opinion: California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley
Despite not directly regulating natural gas appliances, ordinance prohibiting installing natural gas infrastructure in new buildings was expressly preempted as regulation on the quantity of gas consumed by covered appliances. |
Environmental Law |
|
P. Bumatay | Jan. 3, 2024 |
|
21-70719
|
Migrant Clinicians Network v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPA's amended registrations of pesticide failed to comply with the Endangered Species Act and parts of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. |
Environmental Law |
|
D. Bress | Dec. 14, 2023 |
|
22-16751
|
Earth Island Institute v. United States Forest Service
U.S. Forest Service's actions involved in approving environmental project to address fires, infestations, and infections, comported with all applicable regulations and statutes. |
Environmental Law |
|
E. Siler | Dec. 8, 2023 |