rwgSteven H. Kaufmann
Steven H. KaufmannShareholderLos Angeles

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213.626.8484

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213.626.0078

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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).

 
Education

B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 1971
J.D., Loyola University School of Law, Los Angeles, 1974

 
Practice Areas

Administrative Law
Appellate Law
Coastal Act and CEQA Litigation
Coastal Law
Land Use
Litigation
Public Agency and Municipal Law Litigation
Writs