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San Francisco Taxi Coalition v. City & County of San Francisco

Filing Date: 2019
Case Categories:
  • State Law Claims
    • Industry Lawsuits
  • State Law Claims
    • State Impact Assessment Laws
Principal Laws:
California Public Utilities Code, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Fourteenth Amendment—Equal Protection, Fourteenth Amendment—Due Process, California Constitution, California Government Code
Description: Challenge to limitations on taxi airport pickups.
  • San Francisco Taxi Coalition v. City & County of San Francisco
    Docket number(s): 19-16439
    Court/Admin Entity: 9th Cir.
    Case Documents:
    Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary
    11/09/2020 Opinion Download District court’s judgment on the pleadings in favor of defendants affirmed. Ninth Circuit Rejected Claim That CEQA Applied to Taxi Rules for Airport Pickups. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court judgment rejecting challenges to San Francisco regulations that dictated which taxi medallion holders could pick up passengers at San Francisco International Airport. Like the district court, the Ninth Circuit rejected an argument that the regulations were a “project” subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because the rules could impact the environment by increasing “deadhead” trips to and from the airport. The Ninth Circuit found that the complaint “has not plausibly alleged that the 2018 Regulations increase the number of taxis in circulation or authorize more fares.”
    01/27/2020 Brief Download Answering brief filed by appellees.
    11/27/2019 Brief Download Opening brief filed by appellants.
  • San Francisco Taxi Coalition v. City & County of San Francisco
    Docket number(s): 3:19-cv-01972
    Court/Admin Entity: N.D. Cal.
    Case Documents:
    Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary
    07/19/2019 Notice of Appeal Download Notice of appeal filed.
    06/20/2019 Order Download City's motion for judgment on the pleadings granted. The court granted the City's motion for judgment on the pleadings. On the California Environmental Quality Act claim, the court rejected the plaintiff's theory that taxis would drive to the airport without passengers, and that other types of medallion holders would return to the city without passengers, resulting in increased emissions. The court said the concerns were "too speculative or unlikely to be considered reasonably foreseeable."
    06/06/2019 Order Download Motion for preliminary injunction denied.
    04/12/2019 Notice Download Notice of removal filed.
  • San Francisco Taxi Coalition v. City & County of San Francisco
    Docket number(s): CGC-19-574503
    Court/Admin Entity: Cal. Super. Ct.
    Case Documents:
    Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary
    03/13/2019 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Plaintiffs challenged new regulations concerning what types of taxis could pick up fares at the airport. The plaintiffs' claims included a California Environmental Quality Act claim largely based on the plaintiffs' allegations that the new regulations would increase the trips to and from the airport by taxicabs and thereby increase vehicle emissions, including greenhouse gas emissions.

© 2023 · Sabin Center for Climate Change Law · U.S. Litigation Chart made in collaboration with Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

The materials on this website are intended to provide a general summary of the law and do not constitute legal advice. You should consult with counsel to determine applicable legal requirements in a specific fact situation.