3/6/26
Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Six
The Rule of Montecito Country Club, LLC v. Kevin C. Root is that an easement holder can acquire prescriptive rights to expand the scope of their recorded easement through open, notorious, continuous, and adverse use for five years, under a preponderance of the evidence standard, when the easement holder has maintained boundary landscaping within the easement area for decades without the landowner's permission or interference.
3/9/26
Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Three
The Rule of Center for Biological Diversity, Inc. v. Public Utilities Commission is that a public utilities commission's quasi-legislative decision developing a successor net energy metering tariff pursuant to statutory directive receives narrow judicial review and will be upheld if it lies within the lawmaking authority delegated by the Legislature and is reasonably necessary to implement the statutory purpose, under circumstances where the Legislature has explicitly directed the commission to develop a tariff meeting specified objectives while providing discretion to revise the tariff as appropriate.