Friends of the So. Fork Gualala v. Dept. of Forestry & Fire Prot.

I. INTRODUCTION

In this California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Pub. Resources Code § 21000 et seq.) proceeding against respondent California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFIRE), we consider whether the trial court erred in denying an application for disability accommodation under rule 1.100 of the California Rules of Court. 1 The rule 1.100 application at issue, made by petitioner Friends of the South Fork Gualala (FSFG) on behalf of its counsel of record, Daniel Garrett-Steinman, sought extensions

1 All undesignated citations to rules refer to the California rules of

Court.

1 of time to meet briefing deadlines and other relief from routine procedural obligations. We see no error and will affirm. We set forth the full procedural setting in greater detail below, but to frame our holding at the outset, a quick thumbnail sketch of the relevant background is as follows. In July 2023, the court granted in part and denied in part a petition for a writ of mandate bringing various CEQA challenges to CalFIRE’s approval of a rancher’s plan to harvest timber (the Timber Plan). Although the court granted the petition on the merits, vacating the approval as deficient…