Writs and Appeals

Appellate

RW&G's lawyers have handled hundreds of appeals in the federal and state courts. The cases litigated by our experienced appellate lawyers often involve complex and subtle legal issues and procedural rules. Many of those cases also present issues of first impression in developing areas of the law:

  • constitutional law
  • civil rights litigation
  • elections law
  • environmental and energy law and related insurance coverage
  • general commercial law
  • land use and zoning law
  • local taxation
  • redevelopment
  • rent control
  • telecommunications
  • water rights and water law.

Clients are best served on appeal by retaining attorneys familiar with the appellate process. As one court has observed: “Appellate work is most assuredly not the recycling of trial level [work].” “Appellate practice entails rigorous original work in its own right. The appellate practitioner who takes trial level [arguments] and, without reconsideration or additional research, merely shovels them in to an appellate brief, is producing a substandard product.” In re Marriage of Shaban, 88 Cal.App.4th 398, 408, 410 (2001).

Following is a partial list of published appellate cases highlighting the breadth and depth of our experience handling appeals.


Mitchell E. Abbott

  • Airport Planning — City of Coachella v. Riverside County
  • CEQA — Centinela Hospital Assn v. City of Inglewood
  • CEQA — County of Los Angeles v. California Water Resources Control Board
  • Charter Amendments — People ex rel. Seal Beach Firefighters Assn v. City of Seal Beach
  • Defamation — Good Government Group of Seal Beach v. Superior Court
  • Elections — Ibara v. City of Carson
  • Local Taxation (Prop. 13) — City of Cathedral City v. County of Riverside
  • Local Taxation (Prop. 218) — Howard Jarvis Taxpayers’ Assn v. City of Salinas
  • Low-Income Housing Loans — ABI, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles
  • Utility Relocations — Pasadena Metro Blue Line Construction Authority v. Pacific Bell Telephone Co.
  • Zoning — Denny’s Inc. v. City of Agoura Hills

Patrick K. Bobko

  • Administrative Procedure — Nightlife Partners v. City of Beverly Hills
  • Juvenile Curfews — Harrahill v. City of Monrovia

Rochelle Browne

  • Annexation — City of Agoura Hills v. LAFCO
  • Annexation — City of Redlands v. County of San Bernardino
  • Conflicts of Interest — Clark v. City of Hermosa Beach
  • Day-Laborers — Xiloj-Itzep v. City of Agoura Hills
  • Rent Control — Berman v. City of West Hollywood
  • Rent Control — Carson Harbor Village v. City of Carson
  • Rent Control — Vega v. City of West Hollywood

Steven H. Kaufmann

  • CEQA — Cucamongans for Reasonable Expansion v. City of Rancho Cucamonga
  • Coastal Commission Conditions — Surfside Colony v. California Coastal Commission
  • Coastal Commission Jurisdiction — California Coastal Commission v. Quanta Investment Corp.
  • Eleventh Amendment Immunity — Beck v. State of California
  • Governmental Immunity — Cairns v. County of Los Angeles
  • Joint Powers Authorities — Tucker Land Co. v. State of California
  • Land Use Permit Challenge — Leimert v. California Coastal Commission
  • Regulatory Takings Actions — Rossco Holdings v. State of California
  • State Licensing Proceedings — Camacho v. Youde
  • Streets & Highways — Re-Open Rambla v. Board of Supervisors
  • Zoning Challenge — Freeman v. City of Beverly Hills

Gregory M. Kunert

  • Land Use/CEQA — Save Our Residential Environment v. City of West Hollywood
  • Land Use/CEQA/Street Closure — Save the Sunset Strip Coalition v. City of West Hollywood
  • Land Use/Motel Occupancy — Buena Park Motel Owners Assn v. City of Buena Park
  • Land Use/Regulatory Taking — Mola Development Corp. v. City of Seal Beach
  • Land Use/Telecommunications — Abrams v. City of Rancho Palos Verdes
  • Land Use/View Preservation/Regulatory Taking — Echevarrieta v. City of Rancho Palos Verdes
  • Redevelopment — Beach-Courchesne v. City of Diamond Bar
  • Redevelopment — Graber v. City of Upland
  • Rent Stabilization — Pick v. Cohen

James L. Markman

  • Subdivision Assessments — Barratt American v. City of Rancho Cucamonga
  • Water Rights — City of Barstow v. Mojave Water Agency
  • Water Rights — San Diego County Water Authority v. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

T. Peter Pierce

  • Administrative Law — Private Industry Council v. State of California
  • Code Enforcement — City of Carson v. Odyssey Transportation
  • Condominium Conversions — City of West Hollywood v. 1112 Investment
  • Firearms Regulation — Nordyke v. King (Alameda County)
  • Parking Districts — Friedman v. City of Beverly Hills
  • Redevelopment — Graber v. City of Upland
  • Telecommunications — City of Rancho Palos Verdes v. Abrams
  • Telecommunications—City of Rancho Palos Verdes v. Kay

Sayre Weaver

  • Firearms Regulation — California Rifle & Pistol Assn v. City of West Hollywood
  • Firearms Regulation — Nordyke v. King (Alameda County)
  • Parking Districts — Friedman v. City of Beverly Hills
  • Rent Control — Carson Harbor Village v. City of Carson

Other Significant Appellate Cases

  • Annexation — City of El Monte v. City of Industry
  • Brown Act — Roberts v. City of Palmdale
  • Closely Held Corporations — Spencer v. Older
  • Conflicts of Interest — City of Vernon v. Central Basin Municipal Water District
  • First Amendment — American Jewish Congress v. City of Beverly Hills
  • Nuisance — Sierra Screw Products v. Azusa Greens, Inc.
  • Paramedic Services — City of Petaluma v. County of Sonoma
  • Paramedic Services — County of San Bernardino v. City of San Bernardino
  • Real Estate Licensing — Consul Ltd. v. Solide Enterprises
  • Street Vacation — City of Rancho Palos Verdes v. City Council

Related Practice Areas:

At RW&G we draw upon legal experience in multiple practice areas to build the best team for each of our clients. To learn more about related practice areas, please select from the links below: