News & Media

The latest United States Supreme Court decision in the contested ground of Fifth Amendment takings law, Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, is yet another chapter in the long-standing argument regarding the distinction between “regulation” of the use of private property by its owner, and “physical invasion” or “appropriation” of property by the government. 

The pace of construction of new housing in California consistently falls far short of demand.

A national “eviction moratorium” issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on September 4, 2020, initially was set to expire December 31, 2020, and subsequently was extended through January 31, 2021, and then to March 31, 2021, and most recently to June 30, 2021. 

In response to shut-down orders resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, which effectively put many individuals in California out of work, the Governor and Legislature of the State of California, as well as many local jurisdictions, imposed a number of restrictions on residential evictions throughout the state.
 

The general limitations on reassessment of real property without a “change of ownership” under the 1978 voter initiative known as “Proposition 13” deserve renewed attention after the failed effort to enact Proposition 15 in 2020.

In an August 27,2020 opinion, the California Supreme Court provided important guidance to local agencies regarding the classification of permit decisions based on ordinances that include both ministerial and discretionary components.