San Remo v. City and County of San Fracisco

Appellants San Remo Hotel L.P., Robert Field, Thomas Field, and T & R Investment Corp. (the Hotel) alleged in the trial court that the Hotel Conversion Ordinance (HCO) as amended in 1990, of the City and County of San Francisco (the City) resulted in an unconstitutional taking of appellants' property. Appellants had originally made their claims in the federal courts, and had initially obtained an injunction from the federal district court forbidding the City from enforcing the HCO as to them. On appeal, however, the Ninth Circuit determined that it was more appropriate for appellants to pursue their claims in the state courts. (See The San Remo Hotel v. City and County of San Francisco (9th Cir.1998) 145 F.3d 1095, 1102-1106 ( SanRemo I ).)

The state trial court sustained, without leave to amend, the City's demurrers to appellants' allegations that the City carried out an unconstitutional taking when it forbade the Hotel from continuing to operate as a tourist hotel, unless appellants paid the City the amount of $567,000, in the form of a "conversion fee" under the HCO. [1]

We conclude that the Hotel's amended pleadings state causes of action alleging a challenge to…