Administrative Law

2nd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law

Fix the City v. City of Los Angeles — Mayor Bass’s Local Housing/Homelessness Emergency Declaration Was Authorized by City Code and Not Preempted by State Emergency Services Act

automatic / February 27, 2026

Second District affirms denial of a writ challenge to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass's 2023 housing-and-homelessness emergency declaration, holding section 8.33 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code is not preempted by the California Emergency Services Act.

4th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law

Bishop v. SDCERA — Public Employee’s Pension Forfeiture Survives Reduction of Felony Conviction to Misdemeanor

automatic / February 18, 2026

Fourth District holds a public employee 'convicted' of a job-related felony — by guilty plea — forfeits a portion of his pension benefits under Government Code section 7522.74, and that forfeiture is not undone when the felony is later reduced to a misdemeanor under Penal Code section 17(b).

6th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Zenith Insurance Co. v. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board — WCAB Lacked Jurisdiction to Grant Reconsideration After 60-Day Statutory Deadline

automatic / February 10, 2026

Sixth District reverses a Workers' Compensation Appeals Board reconsideration order, holding the Board exceeded its jurisdiction by granting reconsideration after the former section 5909 60-day deadline ran and that the narrow grounds for equitable tolling were not satisfied.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law

Brown v. DMV — Driver Has No Due-Process Right to Identity of Anonymous Reporter Who Triggers Driver Reexamination

automatic / January 30, 2026

Third District affirms denial of writ relief, holding that the DMV is not required to disclose the identity of an anonymous third-party reporter whose request triggered a driver reexamination that ultimately led to license suspension.

6th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Litigation

Santa Clara Valley Water District v. Eisenberg — Preliminary Injunction Compelling Director to Return Confidential Investigation Reports Affirmed

automatic / January 30, 2026

Sixth District affirms a mandatory preliminary injunction compelling a sitting Santa Clara Valley Water District board member to return two confidential investigation reports she removed from district facilities, holding the claim-and-delivery law did not bar parallel injunctive relief.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Litigation

Department of Water Resources v. Metropolitan Water District — DWR’s Bond Authority for Delta Conveyance Project Fails Validation Because the ‘Delta Program’ Is Too Vaguely Defined

automatic / January 28, 2026

Third District affirms denial of validation for Department of Water Resources bond resolutions tied to the long-running Delta Conveyance Project, holding the 'Delta Program' is so loosely defined that it cannot qualify as a permitted modification of the Feather River Project unit of the State Water Project.

1st District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Vallejo City Unified School District v. Superior Court — School District Statutorily Immune for Off-Campus Student Suicide, but Not for On-Campus Pre-Death Harm

automatic / January 27, 2026

First District grants writ relief in part, holding the school district is immune under Education Code section 44808 for the death damages tied to a student's off-campus suicide during winter break, but allowing the parents' survival claim for on-campus harm to proceed.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law

Trustees of CSU v. Public Employment Relations Board — CSU Must Bargain Over Effects of Student Vaccination Policy on Faculty, but Not Yet Found in Violation

automatic / January 26, 2026

Second District holds the California State University has a duty under HEERA to bargain over reasonably foreseeable effects of its 2023 student-vaccine policy on faculty health, but vacates PERB's violation finding because there was no substantial evidence CSU had implemented the policy or definitively refused to bargain when the unfair-practice charge was filed.

4th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Litigation

Mustaqeem v. City of San Diego — State Sidewalk-Vendor Law Preempts Some San Diego Vending Ordinances; Preliminary Injunction Reversed

automatic / January 22, 2026

Fourth District reverses denial of a preliminary injunction by a licensed sidewalk vendor against the City of San Diego, holding that at least two of the City's vending ordinances — covering impoundment of merchandise and operating-hour restrictions — directly conflict with state sidewalk-vendor protections.

4th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Criminal Law

Harmon v. Superior Court — Public Defender Has Discretion to Decline Appointment to Habeas Petitioner Under Government Code Section 27706(g)

automatic / January 20, 2026

Fourth District grants writ relief, holding that Government Code section 27706(g) gives a public defender discretion to decline appointment to represent a habeas petitioner — including a Racial Justice Act claimant — without showing unavailability.

4th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Real Estate Law

Californians for Homeownership v. City of La Habra — City Manager May Adopt Housing-Element Revisions Without Additional Public Hearing

automatic / January 16, 2026

Fourth District affirms denial of writ relief in a Housing-Element Law challenge, holding that subsequent draft revisions made to obtain HCD certification need not be re-noticed for public hearing or readopted by the City Council.

1st District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Litigation

Berkeley People’s Alliance v. City of Berkeley — Brown Act Violation Adequately Alleged Where Council Moved Disrupted Meetings to Smaller Room Instead of Clearing the Original

automatic / January 15, 2026

First District reverses dismissal of a Brown Act suit, holding that plaintiffs adequately alleged the Berkeley City Council violated Government Code section 54957.9 by recessing disrupted meetings and reconvening them in a smaller room instead of clearing the original room and continuing in session there.

California Supreme Court, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law

City of Gilroy v. Superior Court — Public Records Act Allows Declaratory Relief Even After Records Are Disclosed, but Imposes No Three-Year Retention Duty

automatic / January 15, 2026

The California Supreme Court holds that requesters under the California Public Records Act can sometimes obtain declaratory relief even after the agency has produced everything responsive, but the statute does not impose a three-year duty to preserve records the agency has withheld as exempt.

1st District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Real Estate Law

Mendocino Railway v. Meyer — Skunk Train Operator Qualifies as a Public Utility With Eminent-Domain Authority

automatic / January 7, 2026

First District reverses a trial-court ruling that the Mendocino Railway (operator of the Skunk Train) was not a public utility, holding that the railroad's federal common-carrier status and demonstrated freight and passenger service make it a public utility entitled to exercise eminent domain.

4th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Litigation

American Medical Response of Inland Empire v. County of San Bernardino — County Had Discretion to Pick a Different EMS Bidder Even When AMR Scored Highest

automatic / January 5, 2026

Fourth District reverses a preliminary injunction that had blocked San Bernardino County from awarding its exclusive EMS contract to a fire-services bidder over incumbent AMR, holding the County retained discretion to weigh proposals and was not required to advance only the highest-scoring bid.