Government & Regulatory Alert

By: Clare Bronowski, Elisa L. Paster

As we previously reported, the Judicial Council adopted a sweeping rule that tolled all statutes of limitation, including those related to CEQA and Planning and Land Use actions. Responding to pressure from a diverse coalition of municipalities, market rate and affordable housing developers and others, on May 29, 2020, the Judicial Council amended the rule to add specific end dates to the tolling.  Statutes of limitation of 180 days or less, are tolled until  August 3, 2020. This means that CEQA and land use cases will be tolled for 119 days (from April 6 through August 3, 2020).  The new rule states:

“(a)         Tolling statutes of limitations over 180 days: Notwithstanding any other law, the statutes of limitations and repose for civil causes of action that exceed 180 days are tolled from April 6, 2020, until October 1, 2020.

(b)         Tolling statutes of limitations of 180 days or less:  Notwithstanding any other law, the statutes of limitations and repose for civil causes of action that are 180 days or less are tolled from April 6, 2020, until August 3, 2020.”

While the long tolling period is contrary to the short statute of limitations provided by statute – some of which are as short as 30 days - the new rule does provide certainty going forward.

If you have specific questions about your particular situation or project, please do not hesitate to contact us for assistance.

Clare Bronowski
Partner
t:  310.282.6254
f:  310.556.2920
CBronowski@GlaserWeil.com

Elisa Paster
Partner
t:  310.556.7855
f:  310.843.2655
EPaster@GlaserWeil.com