This post was authored by Tyler Doan, Esq.
Petitioner owns real property on a short dead end roadway in the City of Ithaca abutting Summit Avenue. An adjacent property, that Summit Ave is on, has been owned by various entities during the relevant period. In 2017, after the then owner of the subject property blocked a portion of Summit Ave on the property in preparation for constructing an apartment complex there, the Petitioner commenced and an action contending, among other things, that it had a right of unobstructed access to Summit Ave because the roadway was either a public street…
This post was authored by Tyler Doan, Esq.
Plaintiffs filed applications with the City of Austin to digitize existing traditional billboards and to upgrade signs with less sophisticated digitization. The Defendant denied their application because the signs would advertise for things not located on the site where the sign was installed. “In sum, off-premises signs could not be upgraded.”
A lawsuit ensued and the Sign Code was upheld in the district court and initially reversed in the Fifth Circuit as unable to survive strict scrutiny. The case was then appealed to the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held that…
This post originally appeared on the Dalton Tomich blog and is reposted with permission from Dan Dalton, Esq, – https://daltontomich.com/the-importance-of-zoning-notice-requirements-under-michigan-law/
in Montrief v. Macon Township Board of Trustees, the plaintiffs-landowners filed suit against the Township alleging an amended zoning ordinance was invalid and unenforceable based on a failure to comply with certain notice requirements.
Under the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act, an enforcing authority, which in most cases is the local government, must provide notice with respect to certain actions taken in zoning matters. Generally, among the most common actions requiring notice are the following:
Authorities must provide notice for public…
Conscious Consumerism, Class Actions, and Carbon Offsets
Rina Zhang
A growing segment of environmentally-minded consumers choose to spend their money on brands and products that signal their commitment to sustainability.”[1] However, as more companies label their products with environmental sustainability claims like “green,” and “carbon neutral”, there are increasing concerns that some of these terms are misleading and misrepresent practices that fall short of consumer perceptions.[2] As more corporations turn towards carbon offsets to reduce their environmental footprint, recent greenwashing class actions highlight issues that arise when voluntary carbon markets and marketing intersect.[3]
In October 2022, plaintiffs filed a class…
Climate Torts Against Big Agriculture
Shanthi Chackalackal
Over the past two decades, the way society has discussed what was once referred to as “global warming” has changed dramatically, becoming “climate change,” “the climate crisis,” and most recently, “the climate emergency.” This new sense of urgency reflects more than just rhetorical flourish; underlying it are the increasingly direct warnings of the scientific community that if governments do not act swiftly to curb carbon emissions, the devastating effects of the climate crisis will become irreversible. In a recent press release, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chair Hoesung Lee emphasized the necessity…
This post was authored by Amy Lavine, Esq.
The petitioner had requested variances from several different zoning requirements, including the regulations for lot area, lot frontage, front yard setbacks, rear yard setbacks, and minimum and total side yard setbacks, which it needed so that it could build a single faming home. The board of zoning appeals (BZA) denied its request for area variances, however, and the Second Department confirmed the BZA’s denial on appeal. As the court explained, there was sufficient evidence to support the BZA’s determination that there would be an undesirable impact on the character of the neighborhood…
