Community Youth Athletic Center v. City of National City, et al. Victimizing the Vulnerable: Eminent Domain Abuse in National City, Calif.
The Community Youth Athletic Center (CYAC) - a California gym that mentors at-risk kids - scored a knockout legal blow against eminent domain abuse in California on April 21, 2011, when Judge Steven R. Denton of the Superior Court of California ruled in the CYAC's favor against National City, Calif., in one of the most important property rights cases in the nation.
This legal victory stems from events that began in 2005, when National City approved a luxury condo project on the gym's land and threatened it with the use of eminent domain. The lawsuit was filed in 2007, when the CYAC, represented by the Institute for Justice of Arlington, Va., stepped into the ring to challenge the decision by National City, Calif., to re-apply a bogus "blight" designation to two-thirds of the city and target the gym, as well as many other properties, for eminent domain.
After four years of hard-fought litigation, the Court struck down National City's entire 692-property eminent domain zone in the first decision to apply the legal reforms that California enacted to counter the disastrous U.S. Supreme Court Kelo decision in 2005. This ruling, which found that National City lacked a legal basis for its blight declaration, reinforces vital protections for property owners across the state, and underscores why redevelopment agencies should be abolished.
The Court also ruled that National City violated the Due Process clause of the U.S. Constitution in failing to provide the CYAC with statutorily required information prior to an important public hearing.
Finally, in a holding with implications well beyond redevelopment law, the Court also held that when the government retains a private consultant to perform government functions-in this case, documenting the existence of alleged "blight" in National City-documents that the private consultant produces are public records subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act. The Court also set a clear standard for what government agencies have to do in searching the records of their private consultants in response to a Public Records Act request.
Feb. 15, 2008: Superior Court dismisses entire case on technicality. The published notice about the lawsuit was initially correct, but when the newspaper changed the publication date, a date in the notice became off by one business day.
Jan. 22, 2009: Court of Appeal reverses Superior Court and holds there was “good cause” for the publication error. It directs Superior Court to allow republication.
Nov. 6, 2009: Superior Court rejects attempt by National City to get case dismissed on another technicality.
Jan. 21, 2010: Court of Appeal denies request by National City to review and reverse Nov. 6, 2009 decision.
April 21, 2011: Superior Court issues a 50-page opinion ruling for plaintiff CYAC on almost every claim and invalidates National City's bogus blight ordinance, protecting the CYAC gym and nearly 700 other properties from the threat of eminent domain.
Status:
Trial was held March 14-22, 2011. On April 21, 2011 the Superior Court ruled for the CYAC, invalidating National City's bogus blight ordinance.
