May 2008

A couple of interesting eminent domain-related items appeared on my screen today:

Next month marks the third anniversary of the controversial U.S.Supreme Court decision that allowed the city of New London to use thepower of eminent domain. But, not much progress has been made in FortTrumbull, leaving some wondering whether the homeowners were forced outfor nothing.

The chutzpah award[*] needs to be given for this statement accusing the homeowners who objected to the taking of their property as one of the reasons the project is failing:

The 79-acre Fort Trumbull project is spearheaded by the New…

Continue Reading Eminent Domain Round Up

InsurancelawhawaiiMy Damon Key colleagues Robert Harris and Tred Eyerly have launched the new and improved version of their law blog, Insurance Law Hawaii.

The subject of the blog is (quite naturally) Insurance Law.  It focuses on coverage issues under Hawaii law, and issues and cases of interest.  Categories include Bad Faith, Duty to Defend, Flood Coverage, UIM/UM Coverage, and Katrina.  Recent posts analyze a Ninth Circuit decision on indemnification, a Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals decision on a physician’s billing dispute with an insurer, and a Seventh Circuit case illustrating insurers’ “no pay” attitude.  Check it out and subscribe here. 

This is the third law blog produced by attorneys at my firm.  The other two are Mark Murakami‘s Hawaii Ocean Law, and the blog you are now reading.  Continue Reading New Hawaii Law Blog: Insurance Law Hawaii

Thanks to David Breemer at Pacific Legal Foundation for calling our attention to this recent Ninth Circuit case.  In North Pacifica, LLC v. City of Pacifica, No. 05-16069 (May 13, 2008), a northern California landowner claimed the city’s delays in processing acondominium permit violated its substantive due process and equalprotection rights.  The Ninth Circuit dismissed both of the claims, but reaffirmed that  Armendariz v. Penman, 75 F.3d 1311 (9th Cir. 1996) (en banc) is a dead letter. 

Armendariz held that in land use cases, the property owner waslimited to regulatory takings, and could not assert other causes of action.  This had the effect of subjecting all federal constitutional claims related to property to the bizarre Williamson County ripeness rules, which require among other things that a takings claimant show she has been denied  compensation by the state before coming to federal court.  Armendariz thus forced property owners…

Continue Reading 9th Circuit: Substantive Due Process in Land Use Cases (Armendariz is Still Dead)

To all who attended Wednesday’s Integrating Water Law and Land Use Planning seminar, thank you.  Here are links to the cases and statutes I discussed:

Continue Reading Water Law Seminar Links and Materials

Thanks to Dwight Merriam for forwarding this item, a story that an insurance underwriter is planning to offer — get this — eminent domain insurance:

For less than $300 per year, the policy provides up to $200,000loss of market value when the home is sold, plus up to $50,000 torelieve the expense of moving as a result of eminent domain, [Jeffrey Ward, chief executiveofficer of The Ward Group] says.

Full story here.  It’s kind of strange, buying insurance for when the government fails to live up to its constitutional and statutory obligations to pay just compensation and provide relocation assistance.  But it beats Old Glory’s robot insurance, I guess.Continue Reading I Just Saved A Ton Of Money On My Eminent Domain Insurance

Following up on this post.  West Hawaii Times is reporting (free registration may be required) the County of Hawaii is one step away from putting to voters the question of whether to have two Planning Commissions.  The County Council’s Planning Committee approved the measure, and the last step before it makes the ballot is the full council. 

A source of controversy in the past, the HawaiiCounty Planning Commission makes recommendations to the County Councilregarding land use changes. However, it also possesses decision-makingpowers with use permits, special permits including those which regulateshoreline uses, geothermal permits and spaceport permits.

(I like that last bit about “spaceport permits.”  Makes me want to apply for one.)

Maui County currently has three Planning Commisions, but as Jesse Souki has pointed out here and here there may be practical and legal problems with having more than one Commission, esp when it covers a Continue Reading Two Big Island Planning Commissions?

Today we filed the Opening_Brief (250kb pdf) in Maui Vacation Rental Association, Inc. v. County of Maui, No. 08-15251, the Ninth Circuit appeal from the Hawaii district court’s dismissal of MVRA‘s complaint which sought to declare Maui’s shut down of vacation rentals illegal. 

I won’t go into details of the case since the brief spells out the facts and arguments, but here are some prior posts on the case, and links to media coverage:

Continue Reading Opening Brief Filed in Ninth Circuit Maui Vacation Rental Appeal