Client Alerts

2007

Labor and Employment

• Case Clarifies PERS Regulations with Respect to Pay Deemed “Compensation Earnable”November 1, 2007 Prentice v. Board of Administration, PERS, Case No. D049252, 4th Dist., Dec. 7, 2007. Glenn Prentice was the General Manager of the City of Corona's newly created Department of Water and Power. He was paid 10.49% higher than the range listed in the City's salary plan for his position because he was responsible for developing the city's new electric utility. After he retired, the City ... read more
• Non-Religious Commercial Activities Not Protected as “Religious Exercise” Under RLUIPAOctober 27, 2007 Scottish Rite Cathedral Assn. of Los Angeles v. City of Los Angeles (2007) 2007 WL 2973362. A recent appellate decision held that Federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) did not protect commercial activities conducted by the Scottish Rite Cathedral Association of Los Angeles (SRCALA) and its lessee, Los Angeles Scottish Rite Center, LLC ... read more
• Supreme Court Grants Review of Spielbauer v. County of Santa ClaraMay 15, 2007 Court of Appeal (6th District) Case No. H029345, Supreme Court Case No. S150402. On May 9, 2007, the California Supreme Court granted review of Spielbauer v. County of Santa Clara, a decision that declined to follow previous cases holding that a public employer can require its employees to waive their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in administrative investigations in ... read more

Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /home/customer/www/meyersnave.com/public_html/wp-content/themes/wallrich/wallrich/page-client-alerts.php on line 152

• Individual Proposing Discipline Can Serve as the Skelly Hearing OfficerMarch 6, 2007Flippin v. Los Angeles City Board of Civil Service Commissioners. This case provides insight into who can serve as the hearing officer at a pre-disciplinary Skelly hearing. Kenneth Flippin ("Flippin") is a former truck driver for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power ("DWP"). On April 11, 2003, a DWP dispatcher received a phone call from a customer complaining that a DWP ... read more

Environmental Law

• U.S. Supreme Court Restricts Endangered Species Act, Section 7, Consultation Requirements to “Discretionary” Actions of Federal AgenciesJuly 10, 2007 In National Association of Homebuilders v. Defenders of Wildlife, ___ U.S. ___, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed an apparent conflict between mandatory provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). CWA SS 402(b) provides that the EPA "shall approve" transfer of National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting authority to a state ... read more

Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /home/customer/www/meyersnave.com/public_html/wp-content/themes/wallrich/wallrich/page-client-alerts.php on line 152

• California Supreme Court Requires More Extensive Environmental Review to Adequately Analyze Long-Term Water Supply for Long-Range Development ProjectFebruary 5, 2007 Vineyard Area Citizens v. City of Rancho Cordova, California Supreme Court Case No. S132972 (February 1, 2007). The California Supreme Court held an EIR failed to adequately analyze the impacts of a long-term water supply for a long-range plan to develop 6,000 acres with approximately 22,000 residential units. The Court identified the principal disputed issue as "how firmly ... read more

Land Use

• California Supreme Court Clarifies Constitutionality of Zoning Impacts on Economic CompetitionJune 11, 2007 Hernandez v. City of Hanford (2007) Cal.Rptr.3d., 2007 WL 1629830. In Hernandez v. City of Hanford , the California Supreme Court reversed the appellate court's decision, and held that the City of Hanford's zoning ordinance prohibiting furniture sales in the City's Planned Commercial (PC) district, with a limited exception for large department stores, did not violate the ... read more

Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /home/customer/www/meyersnave.com/public_html/wp-content/themes/wallrich/wallrich/page-client-alerts.php on line 152

• California Supreme Court Agrees with Meyers Nave Amicus Brief; Holds Newly Incorporated City Not Estopped from Disapproving Final Subdivision MapJanuary 3, 2007In a decision upholding the discretion of the newly incorporated City of Goleta to deny a "final" subdivision map that complied with a "tentative" map which was previously approved by the County out of which the City was formed, the California Supreme Court has emphasized the difficulty of holding local agencies to be "estopped," on grounds of alleged unfairness, from acting in compliance with ... read more

Economic Development

• California Supreme Court Grants Review in Save Tara v. City of West HollywoodMay 18, 2007 On Wednesday, May 16th, the California Supreme Court granted a petition for review of an appellate decision that could have important implications for California public entities that rely on contingent agreements with developers as a vehicle to pave the way for future development and redevelopment activities. In Save Tara v. City of West Hollywood(2007) 147 Cal.App.4th ... read more

Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /home/customer/www/meyersnave.com/public_html/wp-content/themes/wallrich/wallrich/page-client-alerts.php on line 152

Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /home/customer/www/meyersnave.com/public_html/wp-content/themes/wallrich/wallrich/page-client-alerts.php on line 107

Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /home/customer/www/meyersnave.com/public_html/wp-content/themes/wallrich/wallrich/page-client-alerts.php on line 152

• Meyers Nave Principal Deborah Fox Honored with 2007 Top Women Litigators AwardMay 10, 2007Meyers Nave announces that Principal Deborah J. Fox has been named one of “California's 2007 Top Women Litigators” by the Daily Journal, the state's premier legal publication. The honor is bestowed upon the state's most prominent women litigators for their career achievements and contributions to the profession. Deborah Fox is one of California's foremost experts on First ... read more

Climate Change and Green Initiatives

Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /home/customer/www/meyersnave.com/public_html/wp-content/themes/wallrich/wallrich/page-client-alerts.php on line 152

• U.S. Supreme Court Rules EPA May Regulate Greenhouse Gas EmissionsApril 3, 2007 In a 5-4 decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to promulgate regulations of greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide from vehicles. The Court further held that EPA's failure to do so in response to a rulemaking petition from the State of Massachusetts, without providing ... read more