FOLLOW US ON TWITTER FOR LITIGATION NEWS AND UPDATES
SUMMARY
We have filed a number of lawsuits to invalidate plastic bag bans. A chronology is provided below. Generally, our claims are based on one or both of the following causes of actions:
1. CEQA:
In 2011, the California Supreme Court ruled that (i) the Save The Plastic Bag Coalition has standing to file CEQA lawsuits and (ii) cities or counties larger than the City of Manhattan Beach (population: 33,182) "will be required" to conduct appropriately comprehensive CEQA environmental review before banning plastic bags. However, in an attempt to avoid (and subvert) the Supreme Court's clear ruling, Marin County, San Luis Obispo County, and San Francisco tried a new tactic. They have adopted plastic bag bans claiming that their ordinances are "exempt" from CEQA and that the Supreme Court's ruling is therefore inapplicable. They did not conduct any CEQA environmental review whatsoever -- not even an Initial Study!
We have filed lawsuits to invalidate their ordinances as we believe that they have blatantly defied the Supreme Court's ruling. Unfortunately, the Marin, SLO, and San Francisco Superior Courts rejected our argument.
In November 2011, we filed an appeal in the Marin County case. (Marin County was the first jurisdiction to claim an exemption and it is the oldest of the three exemption cases). The appeal has been fully briefed and we are waiting for a hearing date. Click here for information about the status of the Marin appeal.
We have also appealed the San Francisco ruling. We are confident that our legal position is correct and that we will ultimately prevail.
If we win the Marin appeal, then we would expect the Marin and San Francisco ordinances to be invalidated.
2. California Retail Food Code preemption:
Most cities and counties have exempted restaurants and other food facilities from plastic bag bans as they recognize that paper bags are not suitable for carrying hot foods and liquids. They also acknowledge that reusable bags should never be used at restaurants as they are unsanitary. Santa Monica and San Jose have exempted restaurants and the City of Los Angeles plans to do so.
It is plain common sense that restaurants and other food facilities should be exempt. Nevertheless, not every city and county agrees.
In March 2012, the City of Carpinteria banned plastic bags at restaurants and other food facilities. We filed a lawsuit based on Retail Food Code preemption.
Click here for a copy of our legal memorandum regarding plastic bag bans and Retail Food Code preemption.
In May 2012, the Santa Barbara Superior Court ruled in our favor.
San Francisco and Santa Cruz County (which are among the most extreme in their anti-plastic views) have also banned plastic bags at restaurants and other food facilities. We have sued all of them based on Retail Food Code preemption. In September 2012, the San Francisco Superior Court ruled against us, openly disagreeing with the ruling of the Santa Barbara Superior Court. We have appealed. There has been no rulings yet in the Santa Cruz cases.
We have also sued the City of Santa Cruz based on Retail Food Code preemption. Although the City exempted restaurants, it has defined restaurants too narrowly.
The ruling of the San Francisco Superior Court is plainly wrong and is contrary to the clear preemption wording of the Retail Food Code and the ruling of the Supreme Court in California Grocers Association v. City of Los Angeles. We are confident that we will ultimately prevail.
We will be filing motions to stay the San Francisco and Santa Cruz ordinances.
CHRONOLOGY
November 8, 2012: We file a Notice of Appeal of the San Francisco Superior Court decision. (See September 12, 2012 entry below.)
October 29, 2012: We file a second lawsuit against Santa Cruz County in the Santa Cruz Superior Court. In 2011, the county banned plastic bags at restaurants and other food facilities. We sued in 2011 to overturn the ban based on California Retail Food Code preemption. In response, the county repealed the ban in February 2012. However, in October 2012, the county reinstated the ban. Therefore, we have been forced to sue again.
October 15, 2012: The San Luis Obispo Superior Court rules against us in our lawsuit to invalidate the SLO ordinance banning plastic bags at certain retail stores. We believe that the court's decision is clearly erroneous and completely contrary to the Supreme Court decisions in Save The Plastic Bag v. City of Manhattan Beach. We will file an appeal.
September 12, 2012: The San Francisco Superior Court rules against us in our lawsuit to invalidate the 2012 San Francisco ordinance banning plastic bags at all retail stores and restaurants. The court ruled (i) the city was not required to conduct any CEQA environmental review whatsoever and (ii) the city could ban plastic bags at restaurants and other food facilities notwithstanding the express preemption section of the California Retail Food Code. We believe that the court's decision is clearly erroneous and completely contrary to the Supreme Court decisions in Save The Plastic Bag v. City of Manhattan Beach and California Grocers Association v. City of Los Angeles. (We filed an appeal on November 8, 2012.)
August 2, 2012: We file a lawsuit against the City of Santa Cruz in the Santa Cruz Superior Court. The city adopted an ordinance banning plastic bags at retail stores. (The city requires retail stores to charge 10 cents for paper bags. In contrast, the county requires stores in the unincorporated areas to charge 25 cents effective September 2013.)
May 15, 2012: We prevail in our lawsuit against the City of Carpinteria. The Santa Barbara Superior Court rules that the city's ban of plastic bags at restaurants and other food facilities is preempted and prohibited by the California Retail Food Code. Click here for a copy of the ruling. Click here for our memorandum which explains why cities and counties CANNOT ban restaurant bags.
March 20, 2012: We file a lawsuit against the City of Carpinteria in the Santa Barbara Superior Court. The city adopted an ordinance banning plastic bags at restaurants. Restaurant bag bag bans are preempted and prohibited by the California Retail Food Code. Click here for our memorandum which explains why cities and counties CANNOT ban restaurant bags.
February 29, 2012: We file a lawsuit against the City and County of San Francisco. The city adopted an ordinance banning plastic bags and imposing a 10-cent fee on paper bags, including at restaurants. The city failed to comply with CEQA and refused to prepare an EIR. Also, its restaurant bag ban is preempted and prohibited by the California Retail Food Code.
February 14, 2012: In order to settle our lawsuit, Santa Cruz County REPEALS its ban of plastic bags used at restaurants.
February 2, 2012: We file a lawsuit against the San Luis Obispo Integrated Waste Management Authority (IWMA). On January 11, 2012, IWMA adopted an ordinance banning plastic bags and imposing a 10-cent fee on paper bags. IWMA failed to comply with CEQA and refused to prepare an EIR.
November 29, 2011: We file a Notice of Appeal of the Marin County Superior Court decision that Marin County was not required to follow CEQA when banning plastic bags. The ruling flies in the face of the California Supreme Court's decision in the Manhattan Beach case. Click here for our press release about the Marin decision.
November 18, 2011: We file final legal objections to the proposed expansion of the San Francisco plastic bag ban. The proposed ordinance would ban plastic carryout bags at all retail stores and all food establishments including restaurants.
November 14, 2011: We file initial legal objections to the proposed expansion of the San Francisco plastic bag ban. The proposed ordinance would ban plastic carryout bags at all retail stores and all food establishments including restaurants.
October 18, 2011: We file a lawsuit against Santa Cruz County. On September 20, 2011, the county adopted an ordinance banning plastic bags and imposing a 25-cent fee on paper bags. This is not a CEQA lawsuit. Much of the lawsuit is focussed on the ban of plastic bags at restraurants and food vendors.
October 11, 2011: The Long Beach City Council adopts a resolution canceling its previous position and adopting out position regarding greenhouse gases. The city backed down and settled with us after we filed a lawsuit. The resolution approves the settlement.
September 15, 2011: The Marin County Superior Court rules that Marin County was not required to follow CEQA when banning plastic bags. This remarkable decision flies in the face of the California Supreme Court's decision in the Manhattan Beach case. We will file an appeal which we fully expect to win. Click here for our press release about the Marin decision.
July 14, 2011: The California Supreme Court issues its decision in the Manhattan Beach case. We are delighted with the result. Click here for our press release.
June 9, 2011: We file a CEQA lawsuit against the City of Long Beach for applying the wrong environmental standard for determining the significance of greenhouse gas emissions from the production and disposal of paper bags. The city is attempting to "move the goalposts" to avoid having to acknowledge the severe environmental impact of paper bags.
February 24, 2011: We file a CEQA lawsuit against Marin County. On January 25, 2010, the county adopted an ordinance banning plastic bags and imposing a mere 5-cent fee on paper bags. The county ignored CEQA completely. It did not even prepare an Initial Study under CEQA. The lawsuit is based on objections that we filed with the county.
March 3, 2010: We settle our case against Los Angeles County as the County is preparing an EIR and the litigation is no longer necessary.
February 22, 2010: The California Supreme Court accepts the Manhattan Beach case for review. The court is expected to decide the case in late 2010 or early 2011.
January 27, 2010: The Court of Appeal decides the Manhattan Beach appeal in our favor, affirming the February 20, 2009 decision of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Click here for a copy of the Court of Appeal's decision. The City of Manhattan Beach subsequently files a Petition for Review asking the California Supreme Court to rule on the case.
July 28, 2009: We settle our case against Palo Alto. The city had adopted an ordinance in March 2009 banning plastic bags at four stores. In the settlement agreement, the city agrees not to ban plastic bags at any more stores without first preparing an Environmental Impact Report. Click here for a copy of the media release announcing the settlement.
April 21, 2009: We file a lawsuit against the City of Palo Alto for adopting an ordinance banning plastic bags without preparing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). We hope that the court will force the city to conduct an objective EIR with the goal of finding and presenting to the public the truth about the environmental impacts of plastic, paper and reusable bags.
February 20, 2009: We win our case against Manhattan Beach in the California Superior Court (but the City of Manhattan Beach subsequently files an appeal). The judge rules that the City of Manhattan Beach should have prepared an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act before banning plastic bags. An EIR would have resolved whether plastic or paper is better for the environment. SaveThePlasticBag.com believes that an EIR would have shown that plastic bags are far better for the environment than paper bags.
December 18, 2008: The Los Angeles Superior Court grants our motion for preliminary injunction against Manhattan Beach.
November 17, 2008: We file a motion for preliminary injunction in Los Angeles Superior Court to stay the effective date of the Manhattan Beach plastic ban ordinance.
August 12, 2008: We file a lawsuit against the City of Manhattan Beach for adopting an ordinance banning plastic bags. The city based its action on a one-sided staff report that cherry-picked facts with the goal of justifying a ban. The city did not prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). We hope that the court will force the city to conduct an objective EIR with the goal of finding the truth.
July 17, 2008: We file a lawsuit against Los Angeles County for adopting a phased ban of plastic bags. The county based its action on a one-sided staff report that cherry-picked facts with the goal of justifying a ban. The county did not prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). We hope that the court will force the county to conduct an objective EIR with the goal of finding the truth.
June 3, 2008: The City of Manhattan Beach, California, holds a hearing on a proposed ordinance to ban plastic carryout bags. Prior the hearing, we sent a letter to the city threatening litigation as the council was planning to vote based on a staff report that was full of misinformation. The City Council decided to defer the vote due to the threat of litigation.
April 17, 2008: The Alameda Superior Court in California invalidates Oakland's ordinance banning plastic bags. Note that the tentative decision was adopted as final by the court. As a result of the decision, the Oakland ordinance was subsequently revoked.
|