JOH CORN
Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Clients,
Today, the San Diego Superior Court (Judge Earl Maas) ordered the California Coastal Commission to pay my Neptune Avenue clients $145,000 as reimbursement for attorneys fees and court costs in Barbara Lynch and Thomas Frick v. California Coastal Commission.
In reaching its decision, the Court held that the Commission’s actions and conduct were arbitrary and capricious. The attached ruling (originally issued as a tentative ruling) became the Court’s final ruling after oral argument this afternoon.
Earlier this year, the Court granted our motion for judgment and ruled that the Commission’s 20-year permit expiration date on the Lynch/Frick seawall permit was an unconstitutional regulatory taking. In reaching this decision, it characterized the expiration date condition as a “power grab.” It also ruled that the Commission illegally prohibited the Petitioners from re-building their beach stairway after it was destroyed in a bluff collapse.
The Commission is appealing the Court’s initial ruling. However, the Pacific Legal Foundation and I are joining together to continue this fight.
You might also find the recent speech by outgoing Coastal Commissioner Steve Blank interesting (click the link). In his speech, Commissioner Blank pridefully boasts that his actions as a Coastal Commissioner have been “unreasonable” and “uncompromising.” It looks like this attitude will cost California taxpayers about $145,000 for this one case alone, not to mention tremendous grief for the Lynch and Frick families.
http://steveblank.com/category/california-coastal-commission/
Have a nice weekend.
Sincerely,
Jon
Jon Corn
Axelson & Corn, P.C.
joncorn@axelsoncorn.com
www.axelsoncorn.com