The Complex Appellate Litigation Group has secured a major victory in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for the City of Costa Mesa, CA, in a decade-long battle over regulations on sober living homes – facilities that house people recovering from alcohol and drug addiction.
Costa Mesa regulations allow for sober living homes, but limit where they can be located. Those limitations have been a long-running source of litigation, and this federal suit contended the location aspects of Costa Mesa’s ordinances unlawfully discriminate against people recovering from alcohol and drug addiction. After judgment for the city, the plaintiffs appealed.
CALG’s M.C. Sungaila, with a team that included Charles Kagay, Jocelyn Sperling, and Greg Wolff, persuaded the Ninth Circuit not just to affirm, but to issue a 69-page published decision that sets sweeping precedent confirming local governments’ authority to enact and maintain sober living home ordinances. The Court agreed with CALG that the city did not violate anti-discrimination statutes – indeed, had treated disabled persons preferentially – and did not breach any other provisions of federal or state law. The decision is a total victory for Costa Mesa and the precedent it creates should reduce litigation in the future.
Also on the briefs were Costa Mesa City Attorney Kimberly Hall Barlow and trial counsel from Everett Dorey LLP.
You can read the Ninth Circuit’s decision in The Ohio House v. City of Costa Mesa et al. by clicking here. You can also watch M.C.’s oral argument in the appeal by clicking here.
Additional coverage from the Daily Journal is here and the Orange County Register is here.
