Conservation Easement Enforced in Sonoma County
The firm prevails in a landmark case to enforce a conservation easement protecting sensitive lands in Bennett Valley (Sonoma County) on behalf of the Sonoma Land Trust. After a 19-day trial, the court orders the violators to pay to restore the property. (Sonoma Land Trust v. Thompson.) Image by SMW
Successful Construction Defect Litigation Settlement
On behalf of the City of Half Moon Bay, the firm successfully settled a construction defect litigation case regarding a cracked pedestrian trail/bike path. The City recovered close to $500,000 from its public works and construction management contractor and its construction contractor’s surety to fund repair and reconstruction of the trail.
Warehouse Approval in Residential Neighborhood Rescinded
After the firm files a CEQA lawsuit challenging the City of Fresno’s approval of a large warehouse distribution center across the street from a residential community, the City rescinds the approval in 2019. (Southern Central Neighbors United v. City of Fresno.)
Defending Agricultural Land Against Sprawl
The firm wins a victory in the court of appeal under the Subdivision Map Act. The court invalidates the approval of the Hoskings Ranch project, a luxury development disguised as an agricultural project in rural San Diego County. (Cleveland National Forest Foundation v. County of San Diego, 37 Cal.App.5th 1021 (2019).)
SF Homeless Navigation Center Defended
The firm assists the Office of the San Francisco City Attorney in successfully defending the San Francisco Port’s 2019 approval of the Embarcadero SAFE Navigation Center, a high-service shelter for adults experiencing homelessness. (Safe Embarcadero for All v. State of California (2019).)
A Win for Public Health: Oil Wells Stalled in Arvin
Together with the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, the firm represents the Committee for a Better Arvin in a successful challenge to the City of Arvin’s approval of oil wells that would have threatened public health in a residential neighborhood. (Committee for a Better Arvin v. City of Arvin (2019).)
Limits on Lead and Cadmium in Chocolate
In 2018, on behalf of As You Sow, the firm settles its Proposition 65 case against the leading chocolate companies over lead and cadmium in chocolate products. The settlement establishes limits on the amount of lead and cadmium in these products and convened an expert panel to identify methods for reducing these levels.
No Vested Right to Quarry Expansion
The firm succeeds in the court of appeal in a case challenging Mendocino County’s approval of a large expansion of a quarry. (Keep the Code v. Mendocino County (2018).) The court agreed with the firm’s position that quarry activities occurring almost 50 years earlier did not establish a vested right to expand the mine.
SMW Defeats New Railyard Next to Disadvantaged Long Beach Community
The City of Long Beach, represented by the firm and joined by five other petitioner groups and the Attorney General, prevails in a CEQA challenge to the controversial “SCIG” railyard, whose air pollution threatened the health of nearby residents and schoolchildren. The court of appeal orders the approval rescinded. (City of Long Beach v. City […]
Halting Sprawl on the Suburban Fringe
The firm’s lawsuit stops the City of Highland’s Harmony Specific Plan, which would have scattered development across a floodplain and required a bridge over — and in — a sensitive creek at the edge of the San Bernardino Mountains. (Greenspot Residents Association v. City of Highland (2018).)