A&W Team Files Amicus Brief in U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Ten Cities Over Municipal Right to Sue State

October 23, 2025 - A&W Team Files Amicus Brief in U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Ten Cities Over Municipal Right to Sue State

Today an A&W team filed an amicus brief on behalf of ten cities, the Independent Cities Association and Freedom Foundation. In the case, City of Huntington Beach v. Newsom, Doc. No. 25-337, the City of Huntington Beach filed suit against the State and its Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) alleging that HCD was coercing speech by mandating a particular outcome for a vote on increased housing density in that City. The Ninth Circuit barred the City’s suit on standing grounds, finding that a city cannot sue its “creator” state. This per se rule barring municipals from suing their own state exists only in the Ninth Circuit; other Circuits have stated different standards.

A&W’s brief urges the Supreme Court to reconsider a 100+ year old case, Hunter v. City of Pittsburgh (1907) that started this “cities cannot sue their own state” rule and reverse that case and others.

A&W’s brief is a true team effort in every sense of the word “team.” Attorneys Norm Dupont, Shukan Patel, Cody Parker, together with post-bar clerk Colin Ryan, participated in the drafting and revisions to the brief. Sunny Soltani and Shukan lead the critical effort to obtain participation by various cities in the brief including cities not represented by A&W in other matters. A&W staff including Carla Durkee, Jerry Gonzales, Lili Madrid, and Natasha Van Hoven were critical to cite-checking (Natasha) and formatting the brief before it went to the specialist printing company.