Plan Bay Area is a monumental land use document prepared by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), for the ostensible purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent by the year 2035, as required by former Governor Schwarzenegger’s Senate Bill 375. Kassouni Law is currently litigating the legality of… Read more »
Wondering what Kassouni Law is working on at the moment? Currently we are involved in litigation against the One Bay Area Plan. Here’s a link to our Client’s site http://globalizationofcalifornia.com/. One needs only to watch the site’s videos to see why we are so passionate about litigation in the defense of Constitutionally protected property rights.
In most states you can’t bring a law suit to challenge the constitutionality of a law until the law has affected you personally (e.g. you have been arrested, fined. etc.). As a result, numerous laws that many believe are unconstitutional can remain on the books for decades until someone is unlucky enough to fall… Read more »
The US Supreme Court will soon decide whether millions of property owners will maintain the ability to sue the government for regulatory takings arising under the Clean Water Act. Last June, a property owner filed a petition asking the Court to overturn the Federal Circuit Court of Appeal’s opinion in Mehaffy v. United States. In… Read more »
On May 15th, the Sacramento Land Use Lawyers at Kassouni Law sent a letter to the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) on behalf of Freedom Advocates and the Post Sustainability Institute, both of which are non-profit organizations dedicated to the preservation of private property rights, consistent with the Fifth and… Read more »
San Francisco, CA August 26, 2013 On August 21, 2013 the California Supreme Court let stand a precedent setting, landmark property rights decision issued by the Court of Appeal which has changed property rights law. Business and property owners now have added Constitutional protection from project development delays and overzealous government regulation, signaling a new… Read more »
Land Use & Regulatory Takings Seminar: August 19, 2013 4-5 pm EST Owner and Managing partner at Kassouni Law, Timothy Kassouni has been chosen to speak for Law Seminars International on the topic of Land Use Law and Regulatory Takings. To register for the Regulatory Takings Seminar click here. A Synopsis of the Speaking Engagement:… Read more »
In a unanimous 8-0 ruling, the United States Supreme Court today confirmed that the Fifth Amendment mandates the payment of just compensation for permanent as well as temporary physical invasions of property. Back in 1987, the United States Supreme Court confirmed that just compensation is required for a permanent or temporary regulatory taking in First… Read more »
Last week the California Supreme Court in Palisades Bowl v. City of Los Angeles granted the Coastal Commission broad jurisdiction over paper subdivisions, even though the subdivision of property does not change the intensity or density of use, and does not meet the classic definition of “development” in the Coastal Act. The case originated when the… Read more »
There are two fundamental sources of property rights protection in the Federal Constitution. The Fifth Amendment provides in part that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation. In addition, the due process clause requires that land use laws and regulations substantially advance legitimate governmental objectives. Land use lawyers recognize… Read more »
