City of Brea v. Cloud 9
Under Code of Civil Procedure section 731, which authorizes city officials to file a nuisance abatement action under Civil Code section 3480 in the name of the People of California, the City of Brea (the city) filed a nuisance cause of action against Cloud 9, Inc. (Cloud 9) for operating a medical marijuana dispensary in violation of a city ordinance banning such property uses. On summary judgment, the trial court upheld the ban against Cloud 9’s claim it was preempted by state medical marijuana law, found Cloud 9’s dispensary activities therefore constituted a per se nuisance based on the ban, entered a permanent injunction against the dispensary, and Cloud 9 now appeals. During the pendency of this appeal, the California Supreme Court concluded in City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patients Health & Wellness Center, Inc. (2013) 56 Cal.4th 729 (Inland Empire) that local governments may ban medical marijuana dispensaries without triggering preemption by the voters’ enactment of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (CUA; Health & Saf. Code, § 11362.5; all further statutory references are to this code unless noted) or California’s Medical Marijuana Program (MMP; § 11362.7 et seq.).
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