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Case Summaries

Environmental Law

[08/19] Sierra Club v. Envtl. Prot. Agency
In an action challenging an EPA rule preventing state and local authorities from supplementing emissions-monitoring requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA), petition for review is granted in part and denied in part where: 1) the rule preventing supplementing of requirements was unambiguously precluded by Title V of the CAA; but 2) the monitoring requirements enumerated in 40 C.F.R. section 70 were consistent with the mandate of the CAA.

[08/18] Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Nat'l Highway Traffic Safety Admin.
States' and public interest organizations' petition for review of a rule issued by the NHTSA setting corporate average fuel economy tandards for light trucks, including many SUVs and other vehicles, is granted where: 1) the rule is arbitrary and capricious, contrary to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) in its failure to monetize the value of carbon emissions, failure to set a backstop, failure to close an SUV loophole, and failure to set fuel economy standards for all vehicles in a particular weight class; and 2) an Environmental Assessment was inadequate under NEPA and petitioners raised a substantial question as to whether the rule may have a significant impact on the environment. (Substituted opinion)

[08/14] The Fund for Animals v. Kempthorne
In a matter raised by animal rights organizations challenging defendants' Depredation Order, which they alleged violates certain treaties and statutes by "authoriz[ing] state fish and wildlife agencies, Indian Tribes, and U.S. Department of Agriculture...employees to kill an unlimited of federally protected double-crested cormorants in New York and twenty-four other states", judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) discretion granted to these third parties is limited and subject to adequate oversight by the Fish and Wildlife Services and therefore the order did not contravene the Migratory Bird Treaty Act; 2) deference was warranted as to FWS's reasonable view that the Mexico Convention requires a close season only for game birds, which the parties agree do not include the cormorant; 3) the order was a reasonable response to evidence that in a large number of states, cormorants were responsible for localized, site-specific harm to public resources; and 4) the FWS did not violate NEPA in adopting the Depredation Order.

[08/12] US v. Tankersley
An environmental activist group member's sentence for conspiracy to commit arson and destruction of an energy facility, aiding and abetting attempted arson, and aiding and abetting arson is affirmed where: 1) a sentence outside the applicable advisory guidelines range was not per se unreasonable in being based on the district court's efforts to achieve sentencing parity between defendants who engaged in similar conduct, with some targeting government property and who were properly subject to a terrorism enhancement, and others targeting only private property who were not; 2) the district court did not clearly err by declining to apply a downward adjustment for a minimal role in the offense; and 3) the sentence was reasonable.

[08/12] Clark v. US Dep't of Agric.
A refusal to grant a declaratory judgment and set aside a USDA determination that plaintiff converted wetlands in violation of the Swampbuster provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985 is affirmed over challenges to the USDA's: 1) interpretation of the term "converted wetland" and the sufficiency of the evidence to support its determination that she converted wetlands; and 2) regulation that placed the burden on her to request, and prove her eligibility for, a "minimal effect" exemption.

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Family Law

[08/14] Lemons v. Bradbury
In an action brought by voters who signed a referendum, which sought a statewide vote on a legislative act establishing same-sex domestic partnerships, challenging the Oregon Secretary of State's procedures for verifying referendum petition signatures, denial of permanent injunctive relief for plaintiffs is affirmed where the Secretary's procedures for verifying sampled referendum petition signatures did not violate plaintiffs' equal protection and due process rights.

[08/12] Choin v. Mukasey
Russian native's petition for review of a decision denying her application for adjustment of status and ordering her removed is granted where: 1) the BIA erroneously interpreted the "as a result of the marriage of the nonimmigrant" language in INA section 245(d); 2) the plain language of section 245 is ambiguous; 3) nothing in the plain language of section 245(d) suggests that an application that was valid when submitted should be automatically invalid when a petitioner's marriage ends by divorce two years later; and 4) the statute also does not require the automatic removal of immigrants whose marriages end in divorce while their applications for adjustment of status are under agency consideration.

[08/11] Vale v. Avila
Grant of father's petition to return his children to Venezuela under the International Child Abduction Remedies Act is affirmed where the childrens' place of habitual residence was properly determined to be Venezuela, and the custody rights held by father under Venezuelan law were violated by mother's removal of the children to the US.

[08/08] Jonathan L. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County
In a dependency proceeding involving the legality of, and restraints upon, home schooling in California, denial of motion requiring children to attend public or traditional private school is vacated and remanded where: 1) California statutes permit home schooling as a species of private school education; and 2) the statutory permission to home school may constitutionally be overridden in order to protect the safety of a child who has been declared dependent. (Opinion on rehearing)

[08/07] In re Esperanza
Orders denying petitions for modification under Welfare and Institutions Code section 388 and order terminating parental rights under section 366.26 are reversed where the juvenile court has jurisdiction to review the social services agency's denial of a criminal records exemption for abuse of discretion.

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Property Law & Real Estate

[08/19] In Re: Holland
A dispute in a bankruptcy case over which state's law should determine whether real property owned by debtor should be exempted from the bankruptcy estate is dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction where the district court's order ruling that Florida law applied and remanding to bankruptcy court, without deciding whether Florida law granted an exemption, was not a final order subject to appeal.

[08/18] Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich LPA
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act's (FDCPA) bona fide error defense applies to mistakes of law, and is not limited to procedural or clerical errors. In an action claiming law firm and one of its attorneys violated the FDCPA when they used allegedly deceptive forms to notify her of a foreclosure on her home, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) although defendants violated the FDCPA by instructing plaintiff that she had to dispute the debt in writing; nevertheless, 2) defendants qualified for the FDCPA bona fide error defense.

[08/15] County of Humboldt v. McKee
In an action by county to assess property taxes on defendants for parcels transferred to third party purchasers, decision in favor of defendants is reversed where: 1) subsequent to the adoption of the 1978 Guidelines, which set forth revised regulations governing agricultural preserves, the parties voluntarily renewed their contract numerous times; 2) the new contract created with each renewal incorporated the 1978 Guidelines; and 3) thus, the 1978 Guidelines can be applied constitutionally to a Williamson Act contract executed in 1977.

[08/14] Santiago-Lugo v. US
In a claim by plaintiff for return of seized but not forfeited property as barred by the statute of limitations, government's motion for summary affirmance is granted where: 1) the six-year limitations period under 28 U.S.C. section 2401(a) applies to Rule 41(g) claims; and 2) in circumstances where there has been a related criminal proceeding but no civil forfeiture proceeding, the cause of action accrues at the end of the criminal proceeding.

[08/13] Kempton v. City of Los Angeles
In a complaint against a city by plaintiff-homeowner requesting action to remove fences on neighbor's property, grant of motion for judgment on the pleadings without leave to amend in favor of defendant city is reversed with directions to grant plaintiffs leave to amend their complaint to allege a cause of action for nuisance where: 1) blocking a public sidewalk constitutes a public nuisance per se; 2) a private individual may bring an action against a municipality to abate a public nuisance when the individual suffers harm that is specially injurious to himself; and 3) even were a claim required in order to seek equitable relief, plaintiffs have met their burden of alleging facts in this claim which placed city on notice to adequately investigate the alleged nuisance.

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