Public Use | Kelo

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China has been on our mind lately. Maybe it’s our recent attendance at the Brigham-Kanner property rights conference held in Beijing in October. Maybe it’s last week’s talk to our law firm by an old friend on lessons that can be learned from China’s move from communism to a market economy.

Whatever is causing China to be on our radar lately, here’s the latest big story, on Wukan, the village presently under seige after a mass protest objecting to the sale of village land for real estate development. The above video is not in English, but it doesn’t take a translator to get the drift. The print media is also reporting on the situation:

Gideon Kanner has also been following the story (start here…

Continue Reading Is “Wukan” Chinese For “Kelo?”

Featured_exhib_brooklyn

A reminder: on January 3 and 4, 2012, at 1:00 and 7:30 p.m. each day, the Honolulu Academy of Arts Doris Duke Theater is presenting the Hawaii premiere of Battle For Brooklyn, the Academy Award-contending documentary about the Atlantic Yards eminent domain fight. We are lucky enough to have the exclusive Hawaii showing of this important, informative, and entertaining film. More information (and ticket purchase) from the Academy of Arts web site here.

There will be Q & A sessions following each screening with the filmmakers and (perhaps) a special guest, TBA.

The film has received fantastic reviews (a New York Times critics’ pick), and recently made the short list for films in the running for the Best Documentary feature Academy Award. We reviewed the film here, and highly recommend it.

Battle For Brooklyn is an especially timely film for Hawaii audiences: it chronicles one homeowner’s years-long…

Continue Reading Exclusive Hawaii Premiere: Battle for Brooklyn, Academy Award Contending Documentary About Eminent Domain

5330215_big To those who were able to join us this evening for the celebration of the publication of Eminent Domain – A Handbook of Condemnation Law, thank you.

The University of Hawaii Law School sponsored the reception, and it was good to see so many colleagues and friends in attendance. U.H. put the event together since Professor David Callies was one of the book’s editors, and six U.H. alums contributed chapters.

I was privileged to author two chapters (Prelitigation Process and Flooding & Erosion), and my Damon Key colleagues Mark Murakami and Christi-Anne Kudo Chock co-authored the chapter Damages Resulting from a Taking: An Overview.   

A complete Table of Contents is available here. This book is an overview of the law from folks who have been practicing in that area for a long, long time. It is intended as a “deskbook” — a quick and…

Continue Reading Book Report: Eminent Domain – A Handbook of Condemnation Law

For those who tuned in to today’s webinar Eminent Domain: Redevelopment Challenges for Local Government, here are the cases I spoke about during my session:

  • County of Hawaii v. C&J Coupe Family Ltd. P’ship, 198 P.3d 615 (Haw. 2008) (under Kelo, trial courts presented with prima facie evidence that the stated public use is a pretext to cover up private benefit must look to the real motive for a taking even if the taking is for a “classic” use).

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Continue Reading Links From Today’s Webinar “Eminent Domain: Redevelopment Challenges for Local Government”

This is a post for those who decided they wanted to visit a law blog today instead of (a) filling their bellies with the usual Thanksgiving fare; (b) watching football on TV; (c) gearing up for the insanity of the day-after shopping; or (d) pretty much anything else.

Seriously, what are you doing reading a law blog this day?

Anyhow, here’s the deal if you are: On Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 1:00pm-2:30pm EST (10:00am-11:30am PST, 8:00am – 9:30am HST) we’ll be presenting the on-line webinar “Eminent Domain: Redevelopment Challenges for Local Governnment – Navigating Federal Funding Requirements, Challenges for Public Utilities in Right-of-Way Projects, and Objections to Taking for Public Use“ (click the link for more information), and if you’d like to join us with the $250 registration fee waived (yes: free, gratis, no charge, free-ninety-free), and you are one of the first three people…

Continue Reading T-Day Door Prize. Second Prize Is A Set Of Steak Knives.

We’ve been kind of busy in the last few days with a couple of appellate briefs, so haven’t had a lot of time to post up the latest cases and articles of interest. But here’s what we are reading today, in between brief writing:

  • Hawaii Supreme Court Nominees Will Be Public – Courthouse News Services writes about the case in which we represent the Star-Advertiser in its case to compel the governor to publicly disclose the lists of judicial nominees he receives from the Judicial Selection Commission. More on the case here. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press also reported on the story here. 
  • Beyond “NIMBY” – a post on Legal Planet, a blog produced by enviro lawprofs, advocates that we abandon the term NIMBY. I like “I GOT MINE.”

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Continue Reading Friday Round Up

In case you missed out on the 8th Annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference, held last month in Beijing, check out this video (here is the page with links to all of our posts related to the conference).

The Conference was a resounding success, and featured presentations and papers by the creme de la creme of the property academy and practicing bar in the U.S. and China, a truly all-star line up. Continue Reading Brigham-Kanner Conference: The Video

This just in: In Los Angeles County Metro. Trans. Auth. v. Alameda Produce Market, LLC, No. S188128 (Nov. 14, 2011), the California Supreme Court held:

Under California’s “quick-take” eminent domain procedure, a public entity filing a condemnation action may seek immediate possession of the condemned property upon depositing with the court the probable compensation for the property. (Mt. San Jacinto Community College Dist. v. Superior Court (2007) 40 Cal.4th 648, 653 (Mt. San Jacintothe lender’s withdrawal of a portion of the deposit constitutes a waiver of the property owner’s claims and defenses, except a claim for greater compensation. We find that the Court of Appeal‘s conclusion is inconsistent with the relevant statutory language and framework. We therefore reverse the Court of Appeal’s judgment.

Slip op. at 1-2 (footnote omitted).

We’ll review the opinion and post more when we get a chance. But this looks about right.

Continue Reading Cal Supremes: Lender’s Withdrawal Of Condemnation Deposit Does Not Waive Property Owner’s Defenses

Been tied up finalizing one brief and drafting another, so haven’t had time to post, but here’s what we’re reading today:

  • Via the Land Use Law Prof blog comes notice of Professor Robert Ellickson’s latest article, on The Costs of Complex Land Titles: Two Examples from China. This is the paper he presented at the recent Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference in Beijing. His presentation and paper generated a lot of reaction from the other scholars in attendance, and was one of the high points of the conference.
  • A preview of the upcoming California Supreme Court oral arguments (Nov. 10, 2011) on the future of redevelopment in the Golden State, from the California Eminent Domain Report.
  • More from California,

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Continue Reading Monday Reading

Whenever a judge turns to rational-basis analysis, he’s basically saying, ‘You think two plus two equals five, and I don’t know how to add.’ –

Professor Richard Epstein, at an interesting debate sponsored earlier this evening by the Columbia Law School Federalist Society. Professor Epstein and Chief Judge Alex Kozinski (9th Cir.) debated the merits of Kelo v. City of New London (2005). Professor Epstein attacked Kelo and Chief Judge Kozinski defended the decision.

Via Above the Law and Dwight Merriam. Continue Reading Epstein On Kelo’s Rational Basis Test: “You think two plus two equals five, and I don’t know how to add.”