180 results for author: No Coal in Oakland


Judge Close to Decision in Oakland Coal Ban Case

United States District Judge Vince Chhabria is close to a decision in the case seeking to overturn the City of Oakland’s ban on coal storage and handling.

Coal Case Judge Gets First Batch of Post-Trial Pleadings

Photo:  Oakland youth-led march against coal, 31 Jan 2018.  Credit: Rhonesha Victor.   In the first flurry of post-trial papers filed in federal court late last week, the two sides highlighted their dramatically different views of the case that will decide whether Oakland’s ban on coal storage and handling can be lawfully imposed on a proposed coal export terminal at the site of the former Oakland Army Base. On Friday, February 9, the parties filed an initial round of documents urging federal judge Vince Chhabria to decide the case of Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal, LLC v. City of Oakland in their favor.  Oakland Bulk and ...

Oakland youth march for a coal-free future

Organized and led by youth activist Mykela Patton of Oakland Tech, a spirited group of young people marched from the Emiliano Zapata Street Academy high school through downtown Oakland. With drums, tamborines, kazoos, and their voices they protested the dire pollution threatened by Phil Tagami's effort to bring coal from Utah to the Oakland waterfront. The young people were joined by about a dozen elder supporters, all marching against coal. The group of about fifty gathered at Oscar Grant plaza for their rally after marching around Phil Tagami's Rotunda building calling out: "When Oakland air is under attack what do we do? Stand Up! Fight ...

Coal Trial Ends: Undecided, Judge Awaits Post-Trial Briefs and Final Argument

Post-Trial Briefing Schedule Order The three-day trial of developer Phil Tagami’s lawsuit against the City of Oakland ended Friday without a clear signal from Judge Vince Chhabria as to how he will rule. Chhabria’s ruling is not expected until after he has had a chance to review posttrial briefs and other papers to be filed by the parties in the coming weeks and holds a final hearing tentatively set for March 28. The City made its case Friday calling a number of expert witnesses to rebut the plaintiff’s contentions that the City breached a 2013 development agreement by banning the storage and handling of coal at a proposed terminal to be ...

City Bats Next in Coal Terminal Trial

Judge Challenges City to Explain Health Conclusions Without Air Quality Modeling Judge Vince Chhabria ended day two of the Oakland coal trial by challenging the City to show how it reached conclusions about air quality impacts in the health of residents in West Oakland without doing modelling that would quantify the likely concentration of pollutants in neighborhood air that would result from coal handling at the proposed West Gateway coal terminal. After a day off from trial, the City will begin presentation of its case on Friday at 10 a.m. and hopes to call Dr. Andrew Gray, an air quality expert, to testify on air dispersion modeling of pollut...

Coal Trial Gets Underway in S.F. Federal Court

Before the trial got underway, the judge reiterated his guidance from last week’s summary judgment hearing: “The question in this case is whether substantial evidence supports the City’s decision. It either does or it doesn’t.”

Coal Lawsuit Goes to Trial on January 16

Before a packed courtroom of No Coal in Oakland supporters, Judge Vince Chhabria today ordered a trial on whether the City breached its agreements with the developer when it enacted a ban on coal storage and handling in July 2016.  The trial will start on Tuesday, January 16, and then hop, skip, and jump from Wednesday, January 17 to Friday, January 19, and on to Tuesday, January 23. At today’s hearing, the judge effectively denied summary judgment to both sides on the developer’s breach of contract claim and left summary judgment motions on federal constitutional and preemption claims hanging for later resolution after trial.  Although the ...

California AG Backs City in Fighting Developer’s Lawsuit

The Attorney General's office released the following statement on the filing of the State of California's brief in support of the City of Oakland and Sierra Club/SF Baykeeper's motions seeking dismissal of developer Phil Tagami's lawsuit against the City. Attorney General Becerra Files Amicus Brief Supporting Oakland’s Ban on Storage and Handling of Coal SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today filed an amicus brief in support of the City of Oakland’s ordinance prohibiting the storage and handling of coal and petroleum coke at the Bulk Oversized Terminal. The City of ...

Five Environmental Groups File Amicus Brief in Coal Lawsuit

On December 7, Center for Biological Diversity filed an amicus brief on behalf of itself, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, and Communities for a Better Environment, No Coal in Oakland, and West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project in support of the City of Oakland’s and Sierra Club/SF Baykeeper’s motions for summary judgment in the lawsuit brought by developer Phil Tagami to challenge the City's Ordinance banning storage and handling of coal. CBD issued the following press release: For Immediate Release, December 7, 2017 Legal Action by Community Groups Defends Oakland's Ban on Coal Storage, Handling OAKLAND, Calif.— Commun...

City of Oakland, Sierra Club and SF Baykeeper Move to Dismiss Coal Industry’s Lawsuit As Trial Looms

On Tuesday, December 5, the City of Oakland and Sierra Club/S.F. Baykeeper filed two powerful motions calling on U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria to dismiss developer Phil Tagami's lawsuit against the City of Oakland, Oakland Bulk & Oversized Terminal, LLC vs. City of Oakland.  The lawsuit is being financed by Bowie Resource Partners, a Kentucky-based coal company with plans to ship tens of millions of tons of Utah coal through Oakland if Tagami's lawsuit is successful. The defendants' two motions for summary judgment argue that there is no need for a trial in the case because there are no relevant factual disputes to be resolved ...