2011

There are some cases where, after reading the majority and dissenting opinions, you understand that the judges are on the same page but just have a differing view of the law. However, there are opinions where there seems to be a severe disconnect between the majority and dissent because they address different arguments and advance completely different “narratives” (to use the current parlance).

We don’t know if that’s what led the Texas Supreme Court to accept review of Texas Rice Land Partners, Ltd. v. Denbury Green Pipeline-Texas LLC, No. 09-09-002-CV (Tex. Ct. App. Sep. 24, 2009) last week, since the issue as recounted by the court of appeals’ majority opinion dealt with the seemingly straightforward question of whether a carbon dioxide pipeline operator qualified as a common carrier because it completed the statutory steps, and consequently could exercise the power of eminent domain. The dissenting opinion disagreed, but not…

Continue Reading https://inversecondemnation.lexblogplatformfour.com/2011/02/texas-supreme-court-to-hear-case-on-common-carrier-status-and-private-takings.html

The makers of “Battle of Brooklyn,” a documentary about the controversial Atlantic Yards project, will present preview screengs of their film later this week at the upcoming American Law Institute-American Bar Association’s eminent domain law conference (Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation, and Condemnation 101: Making the Complex Simple in Eminent Domain,) in Coral Gables, Florida. Here’s a summary:

The film is a close-range look at the fight to stop condemnation waged by property owners and residents living in the footprint of the Atlantic Yards Project, a massive real estate development proposal to build 16 skyscrapers and a basketball arena for the New Jersey Nets in the heart of  Brooklyn. 

Daniel Goldstein’s apartment sits at what would be center court of the new arena.  He is dragged into the fight because he simply can’t believe that the government should use the power of Eminent Domain to take his property and hand it…

Continue Reading Preview Of Eminent Domain Doc “Battle of Brooklyn”

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide a case about whether state laws which require elected officials to recuse themselves from considering matters on which they appear to have conflicts of interest, impermissibly infringe upon the officials’ First Amendment rights.

This issue has wide-ranging importance to the players in the land use arena since the Court’s ruling has the potential of invalidating (or subjecting to serious challenge) state and local regulations nationwide which govern conduct of members of city and county councils and boards of supervisors, planning commissions, zoning boards of appeals, and similar state and local government bodies. 

In Comm’n on Ethics of the State of Nevada v. Carrigan, No. 10-568 (cert. granted Jan 7, 2011), the Nevada Supreme Court invalidated a Nevada law which required a Sparks, Nevada city councilmember to recuse himself from considering an application to develop a hotel/casino because the developer’s “consultant” was…

Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court To Decide Whether A Councilmember With A Conflict Of Interest Has a First Amendment Right To Vote Anyway

Here’s an unusual takings case for you, and a decision that is worth reading, if only for its detail about wartime takings and clandestine contracts with the government. Besides, any court opinion that references “Maxwell’s Smart’s shoe phone” earns a spot on the to-read list, no?

In Doe v. United States, No. _______ (Nov. 22, 2010), the plaintiff, an unnamed citizen of Iraq, sued the federal government seeking just compensation for the occupation of his home by U.S. Marines during the Battle of Fallujah in 2004. The Court of Federal Claims held it had no subject matter jurisdiction over his claims for a taking and breach of contract.

The plaintiff “professes to be a sheik and a man of considerable education and influence.” Slip op. at 3. He asserted that before the Coalition invasion, “authorized representatives of the United States” contacted him and asked him to provide…

Continue Reading CFC: No Jurisdiction Over Iraqi’s Claim That Marines Took His Home During Battle Of Fallujah

Readers: are you planning on attending tomorrow’s eminent domain conference at Fordham Law? Details here.

The agenda and faculty look very good. Speakers include Associate Justice James Catterson (N.Y. Appellate Division) (who wrote recently, “Unfortunately for the rights of the citizens affected by the proposed condemnation, the recent rulings of the Court of Appeals … have made plain that there is no longer any judicial oversight of eminent domain proceedings.”), Professors Steven Eagle and Ilya Somin (GMU), and Amy Lavine (Albany Law Gov’t Law Center).

We wish we could attend, but we are engaged elsewhere. If you do attend, might we prevail on you to provide a report? If you are so inclined, send it to us and we will post it (let us know whether you’d like attribution, or would prefer to remain uncredited).Continue Reading Fordham Conference – Taking New York: The Opportunities, Challenges, and Dangers posed by the Use of Eminent Domain in New York (2/22/2011)

Aliaba

There’s still time to register to attend either of the upcoming two courses of study, Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation, and the sixth annual presentation of the basic-level Condemnation 101: Making the Complex Simple in Eminent Domain, both at the Hyatt Regency in Coral Gables (Miami), Florida. Both courses also are offered via live webcast, available either in their entirety or in segments. These programs will run concurrently from Thursday-Saturday, February 17-19, 2011.

I will be joining Nancy Myrland and Anthony Della Pelle (NJ Condemnation Law blog) leading a session on “The ‘Social’ Lawyer: New Media Strategies for Marketing Your Eminent Domain Practice,” about how eminent domain attorneys can use social media for business development or simply to keep up on the latest cases.

Here’s the agendas for the advanced course, and for the 101 course. As I’ve written before, both feature stellar

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Continue Reading There’s Still Time To Register And Attend ALI-ABA’s Annual Eminent Domain Conferences

George Mason U. lawprof Steven J. Eagle is familiar to regular readers of this blog for authoring the seminal treatise Regulatory Takings, now in its fourth edition. Talk takings and you will invariably be dealing with his scholarship.

Here’s the latest: Professor Eagle has recently posted a new paper, “Urban Revitalization and Eminent Domain: Misinterpreting Jane Jacobs” on SSRN. The abstract:

This article reviews the implications for land use policy of Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Fifty years after its publication in 1961, Death and Life remains a clarion call for resistance to monolithic development and to the reigning paradigm of urban planning in the mid-20th century. The article asserts, however, that government officials and planners have learned the wrong lesson from Jacobs. Their emphasis on the top-down imposition of what purports to be varied development is evident in the growth…

Continue Reading New Article: Urban Revitalization and Eminent Domain: Misinterpreting Jane Jacobs

More: Rick Rayl posts his thoughts on the case: “My Stipulated Eminent Domain Judgment Went Awry, and You’re Telling Me I Can’t Appeal.”

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When is a final judgment in a condemnation case not appealable? When the appellant agreed that the trial cout’s order resolved “all claims and issues” in the case and thus it reflected that no one could appeal, that’s when.

In City of Gardena v. Rikuo Corp., No. B217302 (Cal. Ct. App. Feb 7, 2011), the parties mediated the issues and entered into a settlement agreement, after which the trial court entered a final judgment. After entry of judgment, the trial court entered two additional orders awarding the City money from the deposit made to cover the costs of remediation. Although the City did not contest the appealability, the court of appeal asked for supplemental briefing on the jurisdictional issue.

The…

Continue Reading Cal Ct App: No Appeal From Stipulated Condemnation Judgment

On Friday, February 18, 2011 from noon to 1:00 p.m., my Damon Key colleague Greg Kugle will be speaking to the Hawaii State Bar Association’s Real Property and Financial Services Section on Shoreline Issues. Greg chairs our firm’s real estate and construction law practice group, and has been representing property owners on shorelines issues across the State of Hawaii for many years.

The presentation is free for HSBA members and will take place at the HSBA Confrerence Room, 1100 Alakea Street, Suite 1000. HSBA members from the neighbor islands can call in to a toll-free conference line (contact us for the instructions). Continue Reading Greg Kugle To Speak To HSBA On Shoreline Issues (2/18/2011)