More Cert Briefs In Williamson County Challenge (Colony Cove)

Here are the latest briefs in a case we've been following. In Colony Cove Properties, LLC v. City of Carson, 640 F.3d 948 (9th Cir. 2011), the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a property owner's claim that the city's mobilehome rent control ordinance is a taking. The district court dismissed the facial takings claim because it was filed outside the statute of limitations, and the as-applied takings challenge as unripe.

The cert petition is asking the Suprme Court to revist and discard the ripeness rules of Williamson County Regional Planning Comm'n v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson City, 473 U.S. 172 (1985). It poses two Questions Presented:

1. Should Williamson County be overruled, to the extent that it arbitrarily denies a federal forum to regulatory takings claimants seeking just compensation for the violation of their rights under the Fifth Amendment, contrary to the intention of Congress in enacting Section 1983?

2. Should this Court recognize an exception to Williamson County’s "state procedures" requirement for takings claimants like Petitioner, whose Fifth Amendment claims will otherwise be relegated to a California state court system that does not recognize or provide a remedy of just compensation for their injuries?

The latest briefs:

• Brief in Opposition

• Brief Amicus Curiae of Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association in Support of Petition for Certiorari

• Brief Amici Curiae of the Cato Institute, New England Legal Foundation, National Federation of Independent Business, Institute for Justice, Goldwater Institute, Richard Epstein, and James Ely in Support of Petitioner

The case is scheduled for the Court's October 14, 2011 conference.