Articles

On appeal to the First District Court, plaintiffs argued that the city had waived the validation requirements by litigating the case and that their actions were timely. The court held that the validation statutes were mandatory and jurisdictional for challenges to water rates, and plaintiffs’ failure to comply with statutory procedures. Backgroun…

The First District California Court of Appeal has upheld a statutory rule that requires mutual water companies to cancel “appurtenant” shares held by public entities. The court rejected a constitutional challenge by City of Clearlake (City). This decision clarifies that public ownership of land served by a mutual water company does not necessar…

Sunflower Alliance v. Department of Conservation et al., Reabold California, LLC, Real Party in Interest and Appellant, was decided by the California Supreme Court on June 25, 2026. The Court held that “negligible or no expansion of existing or former use” in the California Environmental Quality Act’s Class 1 categorical exemption refers to t…

In Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, the U.S. Supreme Court made one point unmistakable: Title VII protects everyone on equal terms, whether the individual belongs to a perceived majority or minority group. The decision changes the litigation standard in courts that had imposed an additional burden on majority-group plaintiffs. But it shou…

If a young athlete earns life-changing money at 18 or 19 years old, who is actually responsible for helping that athlete preserve it, protect it and build something lasting from it? That was NBA champion and Finals MVP Jaylen Brown’s question when he recently criticized the traditional athlete advisory model. Is the sports industry still introduc…

California has enacted Assembly Bill 501, which will materially change the procedures governing allegedly unauthorized financing statements when it takes effect on January 1, 2027. A missed notice could put a lender’s perfected security interest in collateral at risk. Understanding how this new law applies, and how notices reach the people respon…