Riley v. Hilton Hotels Corporation

Opinion

EPSTEIN, J.

A local ordinance was amended during the pendency of a lawsuit to recite that it does not impose the duty that the defendants allegedly breached. In this case, we consider whether the amendment is in fact a substantive change in the law, and if so whether the language of the amending ordinance, and the scant legislative history of record, are adequate to give the change retroactive application. The trial court ruled that the law was indeed changed, but that the change was retroactive. We reverse. We agree with the trial court that the law was substantively changed, but we…