Attorney Christophe Elliott Skinnell's Legal Cases

Constitutional

Debbane v. City & Cty. of San Francisco, Cal. App. 5th , 2026 WL 2675819 (2026)

Sep 11, 2026

OUTCOME: Judgment in Plaintiffs' favor affirmed

Representing the San Francisco Apartment Association, Small Property Owners of San Francisco Institute, San Francisco Association of Realtors, and four individual property owners in successfully challe ... nging Proposition M, San Francisco’s residential vacancy tax; judgment granted on multiple constitutional and statutory grounds and affirmed on the ground that the tax is preempted by the Ellis Act, Govt. Code §§ 7060-7060.7

State, local, and municipal law

Tesoro Refining & Marking LLC v. City of Carson, 20 Cal. 5th 531 (2026)

Aug 10, 2026

OUTCOME: Unanimous ruling in favor of the taxpayers

Representing taxpayers seeking a refund of taxes paid, successfully argued that California's Government Claims Act preempts local governments' ability to establish their own procedures as prerequisites ... to seeking local tax refunds under the Act

Government

People ex rel. Gunter, et al. v. Keefer, Case No. 24CV008375 (Sacramento County Superior 2025)

Jan 08, 2026

OUTCOME: Summary judgment granted in defendants' favor; subsequent appeal dismissed as moot

Represented the Sacramento County Board of Education and an individual trustee in successfully opposing a suit seeking to remove the trustee from office based on claims that his position as executive d ... irector of a charter school was “incompatible” with his service on the County Board under Government Code § 1099 and Education Code § 1006

State, local, and municipal law

Cal. Apartment Ass'n v. City of Pasadena, 117 Cal. App. 5th 187 (2025), review denied, 2026 Cal. LEXIS 1648 (Cal., Apr. 1, 2026)

Dec 18, 2025

OUTCOME: Various provisions held preempted by state law

Representing the California Apartment Association in a challenge to provisions of Pasadena’s rent control measure, enacted in November 2022

State, local, and municipal law

California Apartment Association v. County of Los Angeles, Case No. 23STCP01114 (Los Angeles County Superior Court)

Feb 21, 2024

OUTCOME: Petition for Writ of Mandate Granted

Successfully challenged a County policy increasing the notice required to initiate eviction proceedings for non-payment of COVID-19 related rent, on the ground that the policy was preempted by the Stat ... e of California's unlawful detainer statutes.

Election campaigns and political law

Chang v. Glasco, Arcadia City Clerk, et al., Case No. 22STCP01633 (Los Angeles County Superior Court)

Jul 22, 2022

OUTCOME: Judgment in favor of Respondent denying writ of mandate

Representing the Arcadia City Clerk, successfully defended suit seeking to force placement of candidate on the ballot despite charter term limits provision on the ground that it applies only to candida ... tes “elected” to two terms when the candidate was appointed “in lieu” of election under Elections Code § 10229

Civil rights

Tate, et al. v. City of Morgan Hill, et al., Case No. 22CV396857 (Santa Clara County Superior Court)

May 27, 2022

OUTCOME: Resolved by entry of stipulated judgment

Represented the former mayor and other local residents in successfully challenging the City's adopted redistricting map for failure to comply with FAIR MAPS Act’s contiguity requirement; resulted in th ... e recission of the illegal map and adoption of new, legal map

Election campaigns and political law

Fugazi v. Padilla, Case No. 2:20-cv-00970-KJM-AC (E.D. Cal. filed May 12, 2020)

Oct 29, 2020

OUTCOME: After TRO denied, action dismissed as moot

Represented San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters Melinda Dubroff in defending against a case by an unsuccessful Assembly candidate, alleging various “due process” and other miscellaneous violations i ... n connection with the recount of 2020 Assembly District 13 primary

Tax

Tesoro Logistics Operations, LLC v. City of Rialto, 40 Cal. App. 5th 798 (2019), rev. den., 2020 Cal. LEXIS 266 (Cal. 2020)

Oct 02, 2019

OUTCOME: Judgment in favor of defendant reversed with instructions to grant judgment to plaintiffs

Successfully represented taxpayers in challenging Rialto’s Measure U, a tax on wholesale liquid fuel storage tanks, as an illegal property tax in violation of Proposition 218, resulting in a refund due ... exceeding $10 million

Landlord or tenant

200 Arguello Associates, LLC v. Dyas, Case No. A145533, 2017 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 3295 (1st Dist., Div. 2, May 12, 2017)

May 12, 2017

OUTCOME: Trial court judgment reversed and remanded

represented appellant landlord in successfully challenging trial court’s ruling that the landlord must exhaust administrative remedies before the San Francisco Rent Board before seeking a declaratory j ... udgment that a rent increase is warranted under Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act

Christophe Elliott Skinnell's Legal Cases (32)

Debbane v. City & Cty. of San Francisco, __ Cal. App. 5th __, 2026 WL 2675819 (2026)

Tesoro Refining & Marking LLC v. City of Carson, 20 Cal. 5th 531 (2026)

People ex rel. Gunter, et al. v. Keefer, Case No. 24CV008375 (Sacramento County Superior 2025)

Cal. Apartment Ass'n v. City of Pasadena, 117 Cal. App. 5th 187 (2025), review denied, 2026 Cal. LEXIS 1648 (Cal., Apr. 1, 2026)

California Apartment Association v. County of Los Angeles, Case No. 23STCP01114 (Los Angeles County Superior Court)

Chang v. Glasco, Arcadia City Clerk, et al., Case No. 22STCP01633 (Los Angeles County Superior Court)

Tate, et al. v. City of Morgan Hill, et al., Case No. 22CV396857 (Santa Clara County Superior Court)

Fugazi v. Padilla, Case No. 2:20-cv-00970-KJM-AC (E.D. Cal. filed May 12, 2020)

Tesoro Logistics Operations, LLC v. City of Rialto, 40 Cal. App. 5th 798 (2019), rev. den., 2020 Cal. LEXIS 266 (Cal. 2020)

200 Arguello Associates, LLC v. Dyas, Case No. A145533, 2017 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 3295 (1st Dist., Div. 2, May 12, 2017)

Debbane v. City & Cty. of San Francisco, Cal. App. 5th , 2026 WL 2675819 (2026)