Woodruff & Smart, APC, News
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Woodruff Director Assists with Negotiations of Agreement In Relation to Land Sale Netting Client $5.3 Million
Woodruff Director and City Attorney, David Kendig, assisted a municipal client negotiate a Profit Participation Agreement (PPA) as part of a sale of agency-owned property. The developer that purchased the land recently completed its sales of the new homes at the property at values that had increased since the sale closed, so the PPA netted…
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Published CEQA Decision Upholds Use of the Infill Exemption
In Protect Tustin Ranch v. City of Tustin (2021) 70 Cal.App.5th 951, the California Court of Appeal upheld the use of CEQA’s infill exemption for a Costco Gas Station project. The City of Tustin was successfully represented by Woodruff Director Ricia R. Hager. The opinion is the first to interpret and clarify the project site…
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Orange County Business Journal Ranks WS&S in the Top 20 Largest Law Firms in Orange County
Woodruff is proud to announce that it has been named the 17th largest law firm in Orange County, moving up two spots from the 2021 rankings, in the Orange County Business Journal’s 2022 List of Law Firms. Established in 1976, Woodruff is a full-service local government law firm. We have served as general counsel and…
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Woodruff Director Negotiates FTA New Starts Grant Agreement for OC Streetcar
James M. Donich recently completed negotiations on behalf of the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) with the Federal Transit Administration for a Federal New Starts Grant in the amount of $149 million for the OC Streetcar Project. The Full Funding Grant Agreement was executed by the parties at a ceremony at the Santa Ana Train…
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Woodruff Obtains Five Favorable Appellate Court Wins for Public Agency Clients
In a recent span of two weeks, Woodruff was successful in defending four different public agency clients against civil rights/tort liability claims before the Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal and California Court of Appeal. In two different state cases, the plaintiffs alleged various state and federal civil rights violations against the county and its…
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Woodruff Director Named Southern California Top-Rated Lawyer
Gary Weisberg has been selected as one of Southern California’s Top-Rated Lawyers by an independent nominating committee. Mr. Weisberg’s selection is based on his expertise in the fields of eminent domain and land use litigation. His personal biography will be published in the upcoming Southern California’s Top Rated Lawyers magazine and distributed throughout the State.
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Appellate Court Upholds Approval of Water Project
We represented a private landowner (Cadiz, Inc.) that is developing a project in partnership with a local water district to store billions of gallons of groundwater in a large aquafer in San Bernardino county. Several different groups, including a mining operation and various environmental organizations, filed six separate lawsuits primarily on environmental grounds, challenging the…
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Wrongful Termination Lawsuit
We successfully defended a sanitation district against a petition for writ of mandate seeking a former employee’s back wages and reinstatement to his position with the district. The employee alleged that he was terminated without due process while on disability leave. The trial court denied the petition, finding that the petitioner was properly terminated for…