Landlords have won a takings case against the City of Santa Monica regarding the city's regulation of tenant deposits. The Second District Court of Appeal ruled that an ordinance requiring landlords to pay tenants 3% interest on security deposits was an unconstitutional taking.
Although the city argued, in part, that the amount of money at stake was not enough to damage the landlords, the court said that $2.3 million was at stake, including about $1,500 for one individual plaintiff. "A small