Get ready for Sheetz v. El Dorado County, No. 22-1074, the "legislative exactions" case at the Supreme Court. [Disclosure: this is one of our firm's cases, so we won't be doing an analysis here. Besides, you already know where we stand on the issue.]
With the final merits brief filed last week (Petitioner's Reply), the case is now teed up for argument next week. Wow, that seemed to come at us very quickly.
Here's the Question Presented:
George Sheetz applied, to the County of El Dorado, California, for a permit to build a modest manufactured house on his property. Pursuant to legislation enacted by the County, and as the condition of obtaining the permit, Mr. Sheetz was required to pay a monetary exaction of $23,420 to help finance unrelated road improvements. The County demanded payment in spite of the fact that it made no individualized determination that the exaction-a substantial sum for Mr. Sheetz-bore an "essential nexus" and "rough proportionality" to the purported impacts associated with his modest project as required in Nollan v. Cal. Coastal Comm'n, 483 U.S. 825, 837 (1987) and Dolan v. City of Tigard, 512 U.S. 37 4, 391 (1994).Mr. Sheetz challenged the exaction as an unconstitutional condition under Nollan and Dolan. A California trial court upheld the exaction, holding that, because it was authorized by legislation, the exaction was immune from Nollan/Dolan review. In a published decision, the California Court of Appeal affirmed, and the California Supreme Court denied review. California's judicially-created exemption from Nollan/Dolan scrutiny for legislative exactions conflicts with the decisions of other federal and state courts across the country, and is in strong tension with this Court's more recent precedents.The question presented is whether a permit exaction is exempt from the unconstitutional-conditions doctrine as applied in Nollan and Dolan simply because it is authorized by legislation.
Check out all of the merits and amici briefs on the Court's docket.
- Sheetz's merits brief
- El Dorado County's merits brief
- Sheetz's reply
- Federal government's amicus brief (the SG has asked the Court for argument time)
To find out more, register for "What's at Stake: Sheetz v. County of El Dorado," a free webinar preview on Thursday, January 4, 2024, 3-4pm ET ("At this event, panelists will give background on the case and its far-reaching implications. They’ll also discuss key precedents that laid the groundwork for this fight, including Nollan v. California Coastal Commission, Dolan v. City of Tigard, and St. Johns River Water Management District v. Koontz.").
Brief of Petitioner, Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, No. 22-1074 (U.S. Nov. 13, 2023)
