Environmental Law

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Environmental Law

Shoshone-Bannock Tribes v. U.S. Department of the Interior — Ninth Circuit denies en banc rehearing in dispute over BLM land exchange involving 1900 ceded reservation lands, leaving panel ruling for the tribes intact

automatic / April 21, 2026

The Ninth Circuit denies panel rehearing and rehearing en banc in the tribes' challenge to a BLM land exchange under FLPMA, leaving in place the panel's ruling that an 1900 cession statute restricts disposal of certain Fort Hall ceded lands.

1st District Court of Appeal, Environmental Law, Litigation

Bair v. California Department of Transportation — Discharge of CEQA writ ends Richardson Grove highway dispute under res judicata

automatic / March 26, 2026

First District holds that the discharge of an earlier CEQA writ necessarily decided the adequacy of Caltrans's revised analysis of impacts on Richardson Grove redwoods, barring petitioners from relitigating those impacts in a third writ proceeding.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Environmental Law, Real Estate Law

Department of Water Resources Cases — DWR may use precondemnation entry statutes to investigate properties without first authorizing or funding the underlying water project

automatic / March 26, 2026

Third District holds that the California Department of Water Resources may use the precondemnation entry statutes to investigate properties for a potential water conveyance project without first satisfying Water Code requirements for project authorization and funding.

1st District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Environmental Law

Center for Biological Diversity v. Public Utilities Commission — On remand from Supreme Court, Court of Appeal again upholds Net Energy Metering 3.0 successor tariff under Yamaha standard

automatic / March 9, 2026

On remand from the California Supreme Court, the First District again upholds the Public Utilities Commission's NEM 3.0 successor tariff for rooftop solar exports, applying the Yamaha standard of deference.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Environmental Law, Real Estate Law

Las Posas Valley Water Rights Coalition v. Ventura County Waterworks — Comprehensive groundwater adjudication and physical solution affirmed against landowner objections

automatic / March 5, 2026

Second District affirms a comprehensive adjudication of the Las Posas Valley Groundwater Basin, upholding the trial court's physical solution allocating water to overlying landowners and appointing Fox Canyon as watermaster.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Environmental Law, Litigation

Physicians for Social Responsibility v. Department of Toxic Substances Control — Losing CEQA plaintiffs not entitled to private attorney general fees on a catalyst theory

automatic / March 4, 2026

Third District holds plaintiffs who lost their CEQA challenge cannot recover catalyst-theory attorney fees under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5 when the agency's later action came years after final defeat in court.

4th District Court of Appeal, Environmental Law, Litigation

Environmental Health Advocates v. Pancho Villa’s — Substantial Compliance Governs Proposition 65 Pre-Suit Notice Requirements

automatic / February 20, 2026

Fourth District holds Proposition 65's pre-suit notice regulation is directory rather than mandatory, and that substantial compliance — not strict compliance — governs the validity of the 60-day notice for private-enforcement actions.

1st District Court of Appeal, Environmental Law, Litigation, Real Estate Law

The Committee for Tiburon LLC v. Town of Tiburon — Program-Level CEQA EIR for General Plan Need Not Analyze Site-Specific Impacts of Listed Housing Sites

automatic / February 2, 2026

First District holds a program-level Environmental Impact Report for a local government's general plan update need not include site-specific environmental analysis of housing-element inventory sites where no actual housing project has been proposed.

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.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Environmental Law, Litigation

City of Vallejo v. City of American Canyon — Industrial Project EIR’s Water-Supply Analysis Survives CEQA Challenge

automatic / January 14, 2026

Third District affirms denial of Vallejo's CEQA writ challenge to American Canyon's certification of an EIR for a 2.6-million-square-foot warehouse complex, holding the EIR's water-supply analysis adequately addressed reasonably foreseeable demand under CEQA and the Water Code.

1st District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Environmental Law, Litigation

In re Fuel Industry Climate Cases — California Has Specific Personal Jurisdiction Over Out-of-State Oil Company in Climate-Damages Suit

automatic / January 5, 2026

First District holds California courts may exercise specific personal jurisdiction over Citgo Petroleum in coordinated climate-damages litigation brought by California cities and counties, based on Citgo's longstanding gasoline supply contracts with California retailers.