Appellate Law

CA1: developer plaintiff moves forward with ?class of one? environmental case

By S. COTUS

SBT Holdings, et al v. Town of Westminster et al , 08-1512.  This is a 1983 case for rich people.  The First reverses the District Court and holds for the developers.  SBT bought property.  Storms came.  Runoff started messing with the environment.  The town and state suggested some remediation and prevention measures.  But the town should have yieled to the state agencies on this (as a jurisdictional matter).  The town sued in state court for an injunction.  The developer won.  The developer went to federal court and sued under 1983, alleging that the town violated his right to be protected equally as a ?class of one.?  The District Court dismissed. The First reverses pointing to a number of bits of evidence that show that the town-actors were out to get the developer.  The First also rejects a claim preclusion claim, noting that the state court lawsuit wasn?t about constitutional rights.  Finally, the First unravels a number of basic state-law issues about who the proper party is under state law.

Full post as published by Appellate Law and Practice on November 06, 2008 (boomark / email).