A “SLAPP suit” is a “strategic lawsuit against public participation,” and many states have statutes designed to thwart retaliatory lawsuits to protect the public’s willingness to exercise First Amendment rights. For example, California’s statute defines SLAPP suits as:
lawsuits brought primarily to chill the valid exercise of the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and…
The issues in the lawsuits about the Hawaii Superferry Environmental Assessment dwell on legal technicalities such as standing, the statute of repose, and the standard of review. But the case seems to have touched a deeper nerve, serving as the crucible for wider issues not limited to the Superferry. For a flavor…
The Maui News reports that the County of Maui has filed a “response” (motion to dismiss) to the federal complaint brought by the Maui Vacation Rental Association against the County. I posted about the case here. The complaint summarizes the claims:
This is an action for injunctive and declaratory relief againstdefendants, and each of…
In a case discussed earlier here and here, Congregation Etz Chaim has filed a Petition for Rehearing and Suggestion for Rehearing En Banc in the Ninth Circuit in The League of Residential Neighborhood Advocates v. City of Los Angeles, No. 06-56211 (Aug. 21, 2007).
In that opinion, a three-judge panel of the Ninth…
Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute has posted a comprehensive summary and analysis of the the arguments in the upcoming John R. Sand & Gravel v. United States appeal, scheduled for oral argument in the US Supreme Court on November 6, 2007. The issue, as I posted about here, is whether the six year…
In Westchester Day School v. Village of Mamaroneck, No. 06-1464-cv (Oct. 17, 2007), the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The decision has been analyzed extensively by others, so I won’t repeat the details, just provide some links to…
In Fantasyland Video, Inc. v. County of San Diego, No. 05-56026 (Oct. 15, 2007), the Ninth Circuit upheld San Diego County’s “adult entertainment business” ordinance against a challenge under the California and US Constitutions. The issue was whether the ordinance’s restriction on operating hours was valid under the California Constitution, and its requirement that…
In Tollis Inc. v. County of San Diego, No. 05-56300 (Oct. 10, 2007), the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s determination that the county’s “adult entertainment business” ordinance was, for the most part, legal. The ordinance survived First Amendment challenges under the City of Renton v. Playtime Theaters…
A report from Maui TV News on the federal lawsuit by the Maui Vacation Rental Association against the County of Maui.
More about the case, including links to the complaint, here.
Professor Gideon Kanner, in his own unmistakable style, writes about the (un)fairness of just compensation in eminent domain in “Kleptocracy!“
Beginning in the 1960s, studies made of condemnation compensationpractices have concluded that the condemnee-owners were actuallyundercompensated (”undercompensated” is a two-bit word for “cheated”).In a great many cases the government offers that are made…
