Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Gene Gonzales, et al. v. Jay Inslee, Governor of Washington, et al.
Paid petition · Supreme Court of Washington, No. 100992-5 · judgment September 28, 2023
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
In March 2020, the State of Washington prohibited almost all residential evictions. It stripped rental property owners of the right to possess and exclude, and, for the next 15 months, the State dictated the terms, conditions, and duration of tenants’ occupancy. Petitioners are housing providers in Washington who were thus forced to relinquish possession of their rental units to unwelcome occupants. Ala. Ass’n of Realtors v. Dep’t of Health & Human Svcs., 141 S.Ct. 2485, 2489 (2021) (“preventing [property owners] from evicting tenants who breach their leases intrudes on one of the most fundamental elements of property ownership—the right to exclude”). The Supreme Court of the State of Washington held that this compelled occupation was not an unconstitutional physical taking because it merely regulated an existing landlord-tenant relationship and was not actionable in accord with Yee v. City of Escondido, 503 U.S. 519 (1992). The question presented is: Whether an ordinance that compels the possession of property by an unwelcome occupant is a categorical physical taking, as the Eighth Circuit held in Heights Apartments, LLC v. Walz, 30 F.4th 720 (8th Cir. 2022), or a permissible regulation of use under Yee v. City of Escondido?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Jonathan M. Houghton
Pacific Legal Foundation
For respondent
Cristina Marie Hwang Sepe
Washington State Office of the Attorney General
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences
Amicus briefs
13 cert-stage
Proceedings
- Jun 24 2024Petition DENIED.
- Jun 04 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/20/2024.
- May 31 2024Reply of petitioners Gene Gonzales, et al. filed.
- May 17 2024Brief of respondents Jay Inslee, Governor of Washington, et al. in opposition filed.
- Apr 17 2024Brief amicus curiae of Claremont Institute's Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence filed.
- Apr 17 2024Brief amici curiae of California Apartment Association and San Francisco Apartment Association filed.
- Apr 17 2024Brief amici curiae of Rental Property Association of Wisconsin, Inc., et al. filed.
- Apr 17 2024Brief amicus curiae of Illinois Rental Property Owners Association filed.
- Apr 17 2024Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed.
- Apr 17 2024Brief amici curiae of More Housing Now!, et al. filed.
- Apr 17 2024Brief amici curiae of Small Property Owners of San Francisco Institute, et al. filed.
- Apr 17 2024Brief amicus curiae of The Buckeye Institute filed.
- Apr 17 2024Brief amici curiae of Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, et al. filed.
- Apr 16 2024Brief amicus curiae of Minnesota Multi Housing Association filed.
- Apr 15 2024Brief amici curiae of Citizen Action Defense Fund, et al. filed.
- Apr 15 2024Brief amicus curiae of GRE Downtowner LLC filed.
- Apr 09 2024Brief amicus curiae of Rental Housing Association of Washington filed.
- Mar 22 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including May 17, 2024.
- Mar 21 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 17, 2024 to May 17, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
- Mar 18 2024Response Requested. (Due April 17, 2024)
- Mar 12 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/28/2024.
- Mar 07 2024Waiver of right of respondent Jay Inslee, et al. to respond filed.
- Feb 23 2024Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due March 28, 2024)