Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
George Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, California
Paid petition · Court of Appeal of California, Third Appellate District, No. C093682 · judgment October 19, 2022
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
George Sheetz applied, to the County of El Dorado, California, for a permit to build a modest manufactured house on his property. Pursuant to legislation enacted by the County, and as the condition of obtaining the permit, Mr. Sheetz was required to pay a monetary exaction of $23,420 to help finance unrelated road improvements. The County demanded payment in spite of the fact that it made no individualized determination that the exaction-a substantial sum for Mr. Sheetz-bore an "essential nexus" and "rough proportionality" to the purported impacts associated with his modest project as required in Nollan v. Cal. Coastal Comm'n, 483 U.S. 825, 837 (1987) and Dolan v. City of Tigard, 512 U.S. 37 4, 391 (1994). Mr. Sheetz challenged the exaction as an unconstitutional condition under Nollan and Dolan. A California trial court upheld the exaction, holding that, because it was authorized by legislation, the exaction was immune from Nollan/Dolan review. In a published decision, the California Court of Appeal affirmed, and the California Supreme Court denied review. California's judicially-created exemption from Nollan/Dolan scrutiny for legislative exactions conflicts with the decisions of other federal and state courts across the country, and is in strong tension with this Court's more recent precedents. The question presented is whether a permit exaction is exempt from the unconstitutional-conditions doctrine as applied in Nollan and Dolan simply because it is authorized by legislation.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Paul J. Beard II
Pierson Ferdinand
For respondent
Aileen Marie McGrath
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Amicus briefs
5 cert-stage · 22 merits
(15 supporting pet./neither, 7 respondent)
Argument & decision
Argued January 9, 2024 — Paul J. Beard · Aileen M. McGrath. Audio and transcript
Decided April 12, 2024. Opinion by Barrett.
Proceedings
- May 14 2024Judgment and Mandate Issued.
- Apr 12 2024Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED. Barrett, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. Sotomayor, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which Jackson, J., joined. Gorsuch, J., filed a concurring opinion. Kavanaugh, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which Kagan and Jackson, JJ., joined.
- Jan 09 2024Argued. For petitioner: Paul J. Beard, II, Los Angeles, Cal. For respondent: Aileen M. McGrath, San Francisco, Cal.; and Erica L. Ross, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (for United States, as amicus curiae.)
- Jan 05 2024Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument GRANTED.
- Dec 29 2023Reply of petitioner George Sheetz filed. (Distributed)
- Dec 20 2023Brief amicus curiae of United States filed. (Distributed)
- Dec 20 2023Brief amicus curiae of Constitutional Accountability Center filed. (Distributed)
- Dec 20 2023Brief amici curiae of National Association of Clean Water Agencies, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Dec 20 2023Brief amici curiae of California, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Dec 20 2023Brief amici curiae of Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Dec 20 2023Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument filed.
- Dec 19 2023Brief amici curiae of City And County Of San Francisco, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Dec 15 2023Brief amici curiae of California State Association of Counties, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Dec 13 2023Brief of respondent County of El Dorado, California filed. (Distributed)
- Nov 30 2023CIRCULATED
- Nov 29 2023Record received from the Court of Appeal of California, Third Appellate District. The record is electronic and is available with the Clerk.
- Nov 21 2023Record requested from the Court of Appeal of California, Third Appellate District.
- Nov 21 2023Brief amici curiae of Charles Gardner, et al. filed.
- Nov 20 2023Brief amicus curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America filed.
- Nov 20 2023Brief amicus curiae of Bay Area Council filed.
- Nov 20 2023Brief amicus curiae of Atlantic Legal Foundation filed.
- Nov 20 2023Brief amici curiae of National Association of Realtors, et al. filed.
- Nov 20 2023Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed.
- Nov 20 2023Brief amici curiae of California Housing Defense Fund, et al. filed.
- Nov 20 2023Brief amici curiae of Citizen Action Defense Fund, et al. filed.
- Nov 20 2023Brief amici curiae of Hotel Des Arts, LLC, et al. filed.
- Nov 20 2023Brief amici curiae of Buckeye Institute, et al. filed.
- Nov 20 2023Brief amicus curiae of American Planning Association in support of neither party filed.
- Nov 17 2023SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, January 9, 2024.
- Nov 17 2023Brief amicus curiae of Building Industry Association of the Greater Valley filed.
- Nov 17 2023Brief amici curiae of California Building Industry Association, et al. filed.
- Nov 16 2023Brief amicus curiae of Claremont Institute's Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence filed.
- Nov 14 2023Brief amici curiae of Southeastern Legal Foundation, et al. filed.
- Nov 13 2023Brief of petitioner George Sheetz filed.
- Nov 13 2023Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed)
- Sep 29 2023Petition GRANTED.
- Jul 19 2023DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/26/2023.
- Jul 18 2023Reply of petitioner George Sheetz filed. (Distributed)
- Jul 05 2023Brief of respondent County of El Dorado, California in opposition filed.
- Jun 05 2023Brief amicus curiae of Buckeye Institute filed.
- Jun 05 2023Brief amici curiae of California Building Industry Association and National Association of Home Builders filed.
- Jun 02 2023Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed.
- Jun 02 2023Brief amicus curiae of Texas Public Policy Foundation, et al. filed.
- Jun 01 2023Brief amicus curiae of Pacific Legal Foundation filed.
- May 30 2023Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including July 5, 2023.
- May 26 2023Motion to extend the time to file a response from June 5, 2023 to July 5, 2023, submitted to The Clerk.
- May 02 2023Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due June 5, 2023)