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Here are the links to the cases and other items discussed today at the International Municipal Lawyers Association webinar with Dan Mandelker and Dwight Merriam. Most of these cases are also in your written materials.

  • South Carolina Bar’s

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Continue Reading Links From Today’s IMLA Regulatory Takings Webinar

Mark your calendars: Dwight Merriam and his team at Robinson & Cole are conducting a webinar/teleconference CLE, “Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act Claims – Strategies for Local Governments to Avoid or Defend RLUIPA Actions.” Also on the faculty is Professor Marci Hamilton, one of the nation’s leading church/state scholars and the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University.

The webinar will be held on March 13, 2012, but the early registration deadline (for a substantial tuition discount) is February 17, 2012. Here’s a description:

After the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) was signed into law over a decade ago, religious institutions nationwide began filing claims against municipalities alleging that certain zoning and land use decisions violated RLUIPA and infringed upon their right to religious exercise.

RLUIPA suits continue today. Courts have ordered…

Continue Reading March 13, 2012: RLUIPA Webinar

Here are the cases Professor Callies and I discussed in today’s session at ALI-ABA’s Eminent Domain and Land Valuation conference:

  • McCandless v. United States, 298 U.S. 242 (1936) – an offer of proof that irrigation water could be transported to the land was not too “remote and speculative,” and should have been allowed in support of the property owner’s contention that the highest and best use of the land taken was to grow sugar cane.
  • Damon v. Hawaii, 194 U.S. 154 (1904) – when an ahupuaa patent includes the adjacent fisheries, the U.S. Constitution recognizes that interest as “property.”
  • Kaiser Aetna v. United States, 444 U.S. 164 (1979) – when a private waterway, recognized as private property under Hawaii law, is modified by private effort and investement into a navigable waterway, the government can only impose a right of public access by condemnation.

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Continue Reading ALI-ABA Annual Eminent Domain Conference, San Diego: “The Role of Hawaii’s Unique Property Law in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Takings Cases”

ABA_SLGThere’s still time to register for tomorrow’s teleconference on Ethics for Municipal Attorneys: Reconciling the Rules of Professional Conduct with Government Ethics Law (a live webinar and teleconference which starts at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time). More information, including registration, here. This program is sponsored by the ABA Continuing Legal Education Center and the Section of State and Local Government Law.

We’ll be focusing on more than just ethics for government attorneys, and we’ve built the program around our thoughts on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Nevada Commission on Ethics v. Carrigan, where the Court concluded that a city council member’s vote was not first amendment “speech,” and he was therefore subject to a Nevada statute thave prohibits elected officials from voting when they may appear to have conflicts of interest.

Joining me in the discussion will be Yvonne M. Nevarez-Goodson (Commission Counsel and one of the lawyers…

Continue Reading ABA Teleseminar: Ethics, Government Conflicts Of Interest, And The First Amendment

12.WATHIThere is still time to join us for the upcoming Hawaii Water Law conference, to be held in Honolulu on January 11, 2012. I am the planning co-chair along with Jesse Souki, Director of the State of Hawaii Office of Planning.

In addition to Jesse and me, we’ve assembled a diverse and talented faculty: UH lawprof David Callies will speak with Elijah Yip (Cades) on the latest developments in water law and public trust litigation. State Water Commissioner Lawrence Miike will update us on the latest goings-on at the Commission. My Damon Key partner Greg Kugle is speaking with Leo Asuncion, the Manager of the Coastal Zone Management Program at the State Office of Planning on coastal issues.

After lunch, we have a special guest, Ed Thomas (a lawyer and President of the National Hazard Mitigation Association, and a nationaly known expert in floodplain management and…

Continue Reading Hawaii Water Law Conference (Jan. 11, 2012)

AFBF-annual
On Monday, January 9, 2012, I’ll be speaking to my American Farm Bureau Federation colleagues, who are in town for the AFBF annual meeting.

The title of my presentation is “Agriculture and Property Rights: Why Hawaii Matters.” I’ll be talking water rights, GMO, right-to-farm, eminent domain, and other issues to the lawyers who represent farmers and ranchers. I’ll record it and post it here on Monday.

Check out the AFBF’s annual meeting blog here.Continue Reading Agriculture And Property Rights: Why Hawaii Matters

At the 2010 ALI-ABA eminent domain conference, Anthony Della Pelle (NJ Condemnation Law blog), Nancy Myrland (social media marketing consultant), and I presented a session on how condemnation lawyers can leverage social media to build their law practices.

This month’s edition of The Practical Real Estate Lawyer includes my short article based on the materials I presented at the conference, The Social Lawyer: New Media Strategies For Marketing Your Eminent Domain Practice (Jan. 2012). 

The Social Lawyer: New Media Strategies For Marketing Your Eminent Domain Practice – The Practical Real Est…Continue Reading New Article: New Media Strategies For Marketing Your Eminent Domain Practice

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser published my movie review of “Battle For Brooklyn,” the documentary about the Atlantic Yards eminent domain fight, on the op-ed page. Check it out here or below. More importantly, if you are in Honolulu next week, come to one of the four screenings (details and link to ticket purchase below).

‘Battle for Brooklyn’ coming to rail project near you

Battle for Brooklyn film posterHow would you react if the government ordered you to give up your home or business so a developer could build an arena for his basketball team? Accept what money is offered, or dig in your heels and fight?

“Battle for Brooklyn,” the Oscar-contending documentary premiering in Hawaii next week, chronicles one homeowner’s fight against the city’s taking of his property. But the film leaves open the question of whether he did the right thing, for the right reasons.

The film compresses seven years of events…

Continue Reading Movie Review: “Battle For Brooklyn” — Lessons For Honolulu Rail From A Reluctant Activist

ALI-ABAGet ready, it’s that time of year again: the annual eminent domain law conferences by the American Law Institute-American Bar Association, this year to be held in San Diego from January 26-28, 2012.

Here’s the description of Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation, the premiere program on condemnation law and related topics:

The power of eminent domain is being reshaped across the nation by court rulings and legislation. Much of the recent court activity and legislation has involved the controversial use, or attempted use, of eminent domain power to take private property for economic development by private parties. Redevelopment, however, is not the only fluid area in takings law. This national course of study addresses those areas where new developments in the law and procedure have and will reshape the practice. Learn what’s new in the cutting-edge areas of eminent domain law and how the practice in this field continues to evolve.

This popular and long running advanced course of study kicks off with a comprehensive update on eminent domain case law and legislation by a preeminent practitioner.

Each morning, the course focuses on hot issues and topics that affect practitioners today.

On Thursday and Friday afternoon, a dual track system addresses important substantive and practice topics in a series of breakout sessions. Registrants can learn about the key issues in substantive takings law from nationally recognized and experienced professionals. On the practice side, registrants can choose from another array of sessions chock full of practice pointers.

The course brings all the right participants together — lawyers, appraisers, condemning agencies, right-of-way professionals, and many others — to share valuable experiences and engage in healthy debate on these cutting-edge issues.

Networking opportunities are scheduled throughout the program, with breakfasts, networking breaks, a reception on Thursday afternoon, and social activities in the evenings arranged by a special Hospitality Committee. Come and meet with colleagues from around the nation, exchange ideas, enjoy the fellowship, and collect more than 16 hours of CLE credits.

This course runs concurrently with ALI-ABA’s annual Course of Study, Condemnation 101: Making the Complex Simple in Eminent Domain. This unique format allows practitioners who are new in the field of eminent domain to network with many of the nation’s most experienced condemnation lawyers, and to benefit from many of those same lawyers serving as their faculty. Special Offer: Attend Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation and bring an associate to Condemnation 101 for 50% off.  ADD TO CART

We’re on the faculty (“The Role of Hawaii’s Unique Property Law in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Takings Cases“with Professor David Callies), so if you attend either course, please stop by and say hi.
Continue Reading ALI-ABA Annual Eminent Domain Conference, January 26-28, 2012, San Diego

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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