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As the Chron has reported, a SF trial court judge has verbally ruled against the Empty Homes Tax, although the reasoning and legal basis are unknown at this time because the judge did not specify a reason and has not yet issued a written decision. Once a ruling is issued, two additional things will happen. First, the City Attorney can request a stay pending appeal so that the tax can be collected. Second, the City is expected to file an appeal to request that the Court of Appeal reverse the trial court and uphold the Empty Homes Tax. Once the landlord lobby challenged the law, we knew the fate of the law would ultimately be decided on appeal, regardless of the trial court decision. Had the judge ruled in favor of the city, the landlord lobby would have appealed. With the judge ruling in favor of the landlords, the City will appeal. While we would have preferred a trial court ruling upholding the law, the appellate court review on the legal issues will be de novo.