Status: Settled out of court

The smaller density project was allowed to proceed. We agreed not to appeal the trial court’s decision. In response, the people of Lafayette filed a referendum against the approval, which passed, meaning ultimately the larger version will be built.

Documents in this case

DateAuthorTitleSummary
2015-11-08 08:46 Sonja Trauss Letter to Lafayette City Council opposing the approval of 44 single family homes

This is the beginning of the lawsuit. It’s a letter from the petitioners, in this case Sonja Trauss & the SF Bay Area Renters Federation, to a superior court judge saying that the respondent, in this case the City of Lafayette, has broken state law and asking the judge to undo what the city has done.

2016-12-22 11:57 O'Brien Land Co. Real Parties in Interest’s Opposition to Petitioners … Petition

As you might have noticed, the Real Parties in Interest are taking the lead in arguing this case. The RPIs are the developers that cut a deal with the city. One of the conditions of the deal they cut was that the developers had to pay for lawyers to defend the City Of Lafayette in case the City got sued. Since the RPIs were going to pay for the city’s defense anyway, they are just using their own lawyers to argue the case.

2016-11-23 11:56 SFBARF Petitioners’ Memo of Points & Authorities in Support of Petition

This filing prepares the Judge for the oral arguments that will happen at the hearing.

2017-04-03 12:04 Judge Craddik Final Ruling

We won!

2017-01-10 12:01 SFBARF Petitioners’ Reply Brief in Support of Petition
2016-12-21 11:59 City of Lafayette Respondent’s Opposition to Petitioners Opening Brief.

The City is really phoning it in with this brief. They left the heavy lifting to the RPIs.

2016-11-30 12:02 Denise Pinkston Brief of Amici Curiae Denise Pinkston, TMG Partners and California Apartment Association in Support of Petition

Another letter from more experts.

2016-11-30 12:02 Carol Galante Brief of Amicus Curiae Carol J Galante in Support of Petition

“Amicus Curiae” means “friend of the court.” This is a letter from an expert on the subject making some of her own arguments to the court about why we, the petitioners, should win.

2016-07-20 11:54 Judge Craddik Real Parties in Interest demurrer is overruled

“No time for loooserrrss we are the champions…” The judge sided with us, the Petitioners. She said that the RPIs’ arguments depended on different facts than our arguments, so she couldn’t make a decision at this stage. It is necessary for the parties to go to the fact finding phase, aka to trial.

2016-07-13 11:46 City of Lafayette Reply in Support of Demurrer by Real Parties in Interest

It’s just more “nu-uh.”

2016-07-07 11:45 SFBARF Petitioners’ Opposition to Demurrer to Second Amended Petition

Here we respond to the RPI’s Demurrer. We say (again) that yes what the Respondents & RPIs did was against state law and also that the RPIs are actually disputing our facts in their Demurrer (this came out more in the oral arguments).

2019-09-13 04:42 Sonja Trauss Petition for Writ of Administrative Mandamus
2016-01-08 11:43 O'Brien Land Co. Memo of Points & Authorities in support of Demurrer by Real Parties in Interest, to Petitioner’s Petition

Here the Real Parties in Interest are jumping into the fray. A Demurrer is a filing where the Respondents (or in this case the RPIs) say, even if all of the facts the Petitioner alleged are true, we didn’t break the law because the things the Petitioner alleges we did aren’t against the law.