Shoreline | CZMA

Subscribe to Shoreline | CZMA via RSS

On a day that our attention is elsewhere, comes this important notice: the Texas Supreme Court has granted the State’s motion for rehearing in Severance v. Patterson, No. 09-0378 (Nov. 5, 2010), the case in which the court held 6-2 that Texas does not recognize a “rolling” public beachfront access easement, without proof of prescription.Thus, the public does not gain an easement over private property upon sudden changes in the shoreline.

The case is once again set for oral argument, on April 19, 2011 at 9:00 a.m.

Thanks to our colleagues at the ABA State & Local Government Law Section for the heads-up, and to How Appealing for the links to the order.

More about the case here (the Texas Supreme Court’s decision on certified questions from the Fifth Circuit), and here (the Fifth Circuit’s earlier opinion holding that the owner’s claim for an illegal Fourth Amendment seizure…

Continue Reading Private Beaches, “Rolling” Easements – Texas Supreme Court To Rehear Severance

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)

VTLREV_coverAs we noted here (when we posted our article), the latest issue of the Vermont Law Review deals with the U.S. Supreme Court’s “judicial takings” case, Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep’t of Environmental Protection, 130 S.Ct. 2592 (June 17, 2010). 

In eight essays, the authors of several of the many amicus briefs add their post-opinion thoughts. Authors include Ilya Shapiro (Cato Institute), Professor John D. Echeverria (Vermont Law), and Julia Wyman (Marine Affairs Institute). The groundwork is laid in the first article, by Professor L. Kevin Wroth:

If hard cases make bad law, bizarre cases may make no law at all. The recent Supreme Court decision, Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection is a case in point. In the Essays that follow, the Vermont Law Review has brought together the reflections of seven lawyers, or teams of lawyers, for amici curiae…

Continue Reading Vermont Law Review: Essay Reflections From The Amicus Curiae In The Judicial Takings Case

To all of you who attended the first day of the Hawaii Land Use Conference today, thank you. As promised, here are the items I discussed during my two sessions:

  • United States v. Milner, 583 F.3d 1174 (9th Cir. 2009) – the case in which the Ninth Circuit affirmed a finding of common law trespass for the building of a wall on fast land, because the shoreline eventually eroded up to it. Both parties had “vested rights” to an ambulatory littoral boundary. The U.S. Supreme Court denied review, as noted here.

…
Continue Reading Cases And Links From Today’s Hawaii Land Use Conference Sessions On Coastal Issues And Water Law

11.LULHI This Thursday (January 13, 2011) I’ll be leading two sessions at the fifth Hawaii Land Use Law conference at the Ala Moana Hotel in Honolulu. This conference takes place biannually, so this is your last chance until 2013 to get updated on the hottest topics, by a stellar faculty.

My sessions will cover Coastal Issues (which includes shoreline boundary, takings, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s Stop the Beach Renourishment case), and Water Issues (which will cover instream flow standards, public trust and private rights, and the Maui Water cases). The conference continues on Friday. Download the brochure here for a complete agenda.

The planning chairs, U. Hawaii Law Professor David Callies (U. Hawaii Law) and Ben Kudo (Imanaka, Kudo and Fujimoto), have assembled a talented and interesting faculty. The keynote speaker will be Professor Gideon Kanner, who will present “Taking a Critical Look at 30 Years of the Supreme Court’s …

Continue Reading There’s Still Time To Register And Attend The Fifth Hawaii Land Use Conference

What we’re reading today:

…
Continue Reading Friday Round-Up: Takings Ripeness, Defining “Hawaiian” Cultural Practices, Penn Central, and Judicial Takings

11.LULHI On January 13 and 14, 2011, I’ll be leading two sessions in the fifth Hawaii Land Use Law conference. This one only comes around every two years, so this is your chance to get updated on the hottest topics by a stellar faculty.

My sessions will cover Coastal Issues (which includes shoreline boundary, takings, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s Stop the Beach Renourishment case), and Water Issues (which will cover instream flow standards, public trust and private rights, and the Maui Water cases).

The keynote speaker will be Professor Gideon Kanner, who will present “Taking a Critical Look at 30 Years of the Supreme Court’s Takings Jurisprudence.” That alone will be worth the admission price.

Also of note: the seminar includes 3.25 Hawaii MCPE ethics credits, so you can fulfill your 2011 requirements in one sitting (you can attend the ethics portion for only $195). Members of the HSBA…

Continue Reading January 13-14, 2011: Fifth Hawaii Land Use Conference

The Vermont Law Review has published an article authored by me and my Damon Key colleagues (and fellow law bloggers) Mark M. Murakami and Tred Eyerly. The article is an essay with our thoughts about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep’t of Environmental Protection, No. 08-11 (June 17, 2010).

That’s the “judicial takings” case involving accretion rights and Florida’s “renourished” beaches. Disclosure: we filed an amicus brief supporting the property owners in the case. We argue in the article that despite eight Justices concluding the Florida Supreme Court’s decision in the case was not a judicial taking, the doctrine remains viable. The article suggests a roadmap for how future cases can be analyzed.

Download the pdf here, or get it below.

Of Woodchucks and Prune Yards: A View of Judicial Takings From the Trenches, 35 Vt. L. Rev. …

Continue Reading New Article – Of Woodchucks and Prune Yards: A View of Judicial Takings From the Trenches

We’ve been meaning to post links to these items for a while:

Continue Reading Monday Round Up

At 10:00 a.m. HST (3 p.m. EST, noon PST), the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in a case we’ve been following that involves federal regulatory takings claims, Williamson County ripeness, the practical effect of the Hawaii Supreme Court’s decision in GATRI v. Blane, 88 Haw. 108, 962 P.2d 367 (1998) regarding zoning and planning for land in the Special Management Area.

Leone v. County of Maui, No. 2969 is a case that has U.S. Supreme Court potential if the Hawaii courts don’t get it right and is definitely one to watch.

We will be live blogging the arguments starting at about 9:55 a.m. Joining me will be my Damon Key colleague Mark Murakami. We will post a full summary of the case and a set of the briefs before then.

Disclosure: we filed an amicus brief supporting the property owners in this case, available…

Continue Reading 12/8/2010 Oral Argument Live Blog: Must A Property Owner Seek To Change The Law To Ripen A Federal Regulatory Takings Claim?