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At the Lectern

Summary of December 21, 2016 conference report for civil cases

December 23, 2016

The following is our summary of the Supreme Court’s actions on petitions for review in civil cases from the Court’s conference on Wednesday, December 21, 2016. The summary includes those civil cases in which (1) review has been granted, (2) review has been denied but one or more justices has voted for review, or (3) the Court has ordered depublished an opinion of the Court of Appeal. Note that, due to the holiday break and its early January oral argument calendar, the Court will next hold a conference on Wednesday, January 11, 2017.

Review Granted

T-Mobile West v. City and County of San Francisco, S238001 – Review Granted

In a published opinion, T-Mobile West LLC v. City and County of San Francisco (2016) 3 Cal.App.5th 334, the Court of Appeal, First District, Division Five, held that portions of a city ordinance requiring site-specific permits before constructing wireless facilities are not preempted by state law.  Specifically, the court reviewed the questions of statutory interpretation and preemption to hold that portions of the ordinance that conditioned the approval of a particular site permit on aesthetic concerns are not preempted.

This case presents the following issues: (1) Is a local ordinance regulating wireless telephone equipment on aesthetic grounds preempted by Public Utilities Code section 7901, which grants telephone companies a franchise to place their equipment in the public right of way provided they do not “incommode the public use of the road or highway or interrupt the navigation of the waters”? (2) Is such an ordinance, which applies only to wireless equipment and not to the equipment of other utilities, prohibited by Public Utilities Code section 7901.1, which permits municipalities to “exercise reasonable control as to the time, place and manner in which roads, highways, and waterways are accessed” but requires that such control “be applied to all entities in an equivalent manner”?

Review Denied (with dissenting justices)

None.

Depublished

None.

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