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Steven H. Kaufmann is a shareholder in the
Litigation Department at Richards, Watson & Gershon. Prior to joining
RW&G in 1991, Mr. Kaufmann worked for 17 years with the California
Attorney General's office (1974 to 1991), representing a variety of State
agencies, including the California Coastal Commission, Santa Monica Mountains
Conservancy, State Lands Commission, and State Department of Fish and
Game. In 1990 Mr. Kaufmann received the Attorney General's Award for
Excellence. He was also named the principal Deputy Attorney General responsible
for advising the Coastal Commission. Mr. Kaufmann's litigation and advice
practice in the Attorney General's office spanned the full spectrum of
land use, administrative and constitutional issues, including inverse
condemnation.
Mr. Kaufmann's litigation practice at RW&G has concentrated in the
land use and environmental areas. In 1994 and 1995, Mr. Kaufmann participated
as a member of the Los Angeles Superior Court Ad Hoc Committee on CEQA
Writs of Mandate, and assisted in the drafting of a new local superior
court rule governing CEQA mandate actions. Among other things, Mr. Kaufmann
has served as special counsel to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School
District on CEQA and Coastal Act matters involving a districtwide school
modernization program. Since joining the firm, Mr. Kaufmann has successfully
obtained judgments in writ and civil litigation matters for the cities
of Agoura Hills, Artesia, Beverly Hills, Buena Park, Malibu, Monrovia,
Norwalk, Palmdale, Rancho Cucamonga, Rolling Hills, Seal Beach, West
Hollywood and Westlake Village and for Nipomo and Los Osos Community
Services. He has also successfully represented public agencies and private
developers in matters before the California Coastal Commission and in
litigation challenging decisions of the Coastal Commission. He is currently
handling a variety of matters for both public entities and private clients
involving administrative, environmental and land use issues.
Mr. Kaufmann has considerable appellate experience, having handled approximately
140 criminal and civil appellate matters. He was the successful counsel
of record for the State and local government parties in the following
reported cases involving issues in the land use, administrative and constitutional
law areas: CURE v. City of Rancho Cucamonga (2000) 82 Cal.App.4th
473 (SEIR not required when City disapproves project); Cairns v.
County of Los Angeles (1997) 62 Cal.App.4th 300 (City is entitled
to fire protection immunity for failure to repair damaged closed road); Freeman
v. City of Beverly Hills (1994) 27 Cal.App.4th 892 (failure to timely
challenge a zoning ordinance bars an action for declaratory relief and
monetary damages); Rossco Holdings, Inc. v. State of California (1989)
212 Cal.App.3d 640 (failure to timely challenge a land use permit decision
in administrative mandamus bars a regulatory takings claim); Leimert
v. California Coastal Commission (1983) 149 Cal.App.3d 149 (administrative
mandamus is the sole remedy available to challenge a land use permit
decision); California Coastal Commission v. Quanta Investment Corp. (1980)
113 Cal.App.3d 579 (Coastal Commission has regulatory jurisdiction over
stock cooperative conversions); Camacho v. Youde (1979) 95 Cal.App.3d
161 (doctrine of respondent superior applies to license disciplinary
proceedings); Beck v. State of California (C.D. Cal. 1979) 479
F.Supp. 392 (11th Amendment immunity and abstention apply to a damage
suit involving a land use permit decision).
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B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 1971
J.D., Loyola University School of Law, Los Angeles, 1974
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