Meyers Nave Continues Winning Streak on Behalf of Sacramento Kings

Agreeing with Meyers Nave, the Third District Court of Appeal upheld a lower court ruling that denied a request for an injunction to halt construction of a new $477 million downtown arena for the Sacramento Kings. The Court’s Nov. 20 decision rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of SB 743, which amended the California Environmental Quality Act to facilitate expedited review of the arena and set a target of 270 days for resolving CEQA litigation related to the arena.

The National Basketball Association holds a contractual option to buy and move the team if the arena is not completed by 2017. The tight schedule led to the passage of SB 743, which plaintiffs in Saltonstall v. City of Sacramento asserted was an “unconstitutional intrusion of the legislative branch on the core function of the courts.” The Court disagreed, holding there was no material impairment of core court function and further stating that “CEQA review does not implicate any constitutionally granted right. Consequently, even if the deadlines set [by SB 743] are short, they are not unconstitutional.”

The latest victory is one in a series of high-profile hurdles the City of Sacramento has overcome with the help of a dedicated team of Meyers Nave attorneys led by David Skinner, Adam Lindgren, Amrit Kulkarni and Shaye Diveley. Their unbeaten track record includes preventing the Sacramento Kings from moving to Seattle, obtaining an eminent domain win giving the City permission to take over the final piece of downtown property, and defeating a proposed ballot measure for a public vote on the City’s $255 million subsidy for the project.