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Check this out. What at first appears to be something along the lines of the grainy Zapruder film (this particular piece was recorded on video, not film, and certainly well before the days of high-res camera phones that we now take for granted) is an important piece of takings history.

It is (the late) Anthony Palazzolo driving his famous “wetlands” property, recorded after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in his favor in Palazzolo v. Rhode Island, 533 U.S. 606 (2001).

Dwight Merriam, who graciously provided the raw footage, became Tony Palazzolo’s friend after interviewing him for an article Dwight was writing on the Supreme Court decision, and they frequently met, dined together, and conversed as Palazzolo’s matter continued on remand. Dwight recorded this video from the back seat of Palazzolo’s car. In the front is John Boehnert of Providence, another longtime friend of Dwight’s and a…

Continue Reading Anthony Palazzolo Drives His Property

Here’s what we’re reading this Friday:

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Continue Reading Friday Round-Up: California Inverse Condemnation, Lawprof Epstein Litigates Public Trust, Property In Ecology, And More

Here’s what we’re reading today:

  • New Ruling In Maui Water Case Still Doesn’t Resolve Old Dispute (Honolulu Civil Beat) – about the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals’ recent unpublished memorandum opinion in a long-ongoing water law fight on Maui. The long and the short of it is the court held that whether a short-term license from the State to use water (month-to-month, max one-year as the statute requires) is “temporary” or not (these licenses have been renewed for 18 years to allow the administrative process to be completed) is a factual question that can be resolved by summary judgment. Court held no. In our view, these things operate much like preliminary injunctions, which although they are temporary in nature, can stretch out for quite a long time while the wheels of justice grind. Cert application to the Hawaii SCT coming, for sure. Any guesses on which way this will come

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Continue Reading Thursday Round Up: Hawaii Water Law, “New” Property, The Edge Denied!

We recommend you pick up the opinion of Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court in Ross v. Acadian Seaplants, Ltd., No. Was-17-142 (Mar. 28, 2019), because it deals with property rights in an area subject to the public trust. We think the court did a pretty good job of setting out the competing claims and the background of the oft-misunderstood public trust doctrine. 

The issue was whether the public (in this instance, Acadian Seaplants) has the right under the jus publicum to harvest living rockweed, a seaweed which anchors itself to “the rocky ledges that accent [Maine]’s coastline.” Slip op. at 1.

Specifically, we are asked to determine whether rockweed is private property that belongs to the adjoining upland landowner who owns the intertidal soil in fee simple, or property that is held in trust by the State through the jus publicum for the public to harvest.

Id.…

Continue Reading The Ocean May Be Subject To The Public Trust, But Private Owners Own The Seaweed

Later today (starting at 1pm ET), our colleague Edward Thomas is chairing an ABA-produced webinar on “Low Income Populations: Underrepresented Socially, Overrepresented as Victims of Natural Disasters: Using the Law to Solve a Serious Problem.”

As in other areas of life, when natural disasters strike, it is often the owners of modest means who are the hardest hit. Floods, wildfires, sea level rise, you name it. And Ed has been there: he’s a former FEMA guy, and currently the President of the Natural Hazard Mitigation Association who understands that property rights have to be respected in these situations. 

Find out more information about the program and register here. Continue Reading Webinar Today – Low Income Populations: Underrepresented Socially, Overrepresented as Victims of Natural Disasters

Would you pay, say $10 for an undeveloped Maui beachfront parcel that is zoned for hotel and residential purposes, but currently is not developable because the County in the past wanted to condemn the land and turn it into a public park (but then ran out of money)?

In furtherance of its acquisition plan, the County changed the parcel’s Community Plan (known as a “general plan” in most jurisdictions) designation to “park.” But it never amended the Hotel zoning, which allows lesser intensive uses such as single-family homes. But then the County didn’t have enough money — beachfront property, it turns out, was (and is) a lot more spendy than the government appraisers thought — so it never actually acquired the land. But having downplanned the parcel in order to take it, it never bothered uplanning it when it couldn’t: the County never reverted the CP designation to its former…

Continue Reading New Amicus Brief In SCOTUS Hawaii Case: Takings Is About Denial Of *Use* Not Whether Property Has Value

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You’ve known for a while that Palm Springs, California, specifically the Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel (a resort facility, but right in town, so you will have many options for “off campus” activities like art museums, the aerial tram, golf, and whatever suits your fancy, and close-in to the Palm Springs Airport), is the venue for our 2019 ALI-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation, January 24 through 26, 2019.

Of course, you also knew that the programming would be the usual spread of topical and cutting-edge topics, presented by some of the nation’s experts. But we didn’t give you the details. So here are some of the programs we’re having: 

  • Keynote Address: “Property Rights: Foundation for a Free Society” – Taylor Revley, most recently the past President of the College of William and Mary, and also former law school Dean (as well as a

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Continue Reading ALI-CLE 2019 Eminent Domain And Land Valuation Litigation Conference, Palm Springs Agenda – Register Now!

According to this story (“California moves closer to taking public pathway from billionaire Vinod Khosla“) in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, the State of California is considering exercising eminent domain to take an easement for public access over his San Mateo County property to access Martins Beach. 

This is the case that resulted in a cert petition after the California Court of Appeal ordered the owner to open up the route to the beach across private property which the previous owner had kept available to the public, but which Khosla closed. As we noted in this post (“Our Unfiled* Amicus In The California Beach Access Case“), the case involves an effort to open back up an access route to the beach across what is now Khosla’s land, simply because his predecessor allowed access (no good deed goes unpunished). After Khosla purchased and closed access, the Surfrider…

Continue Reading From The “Be Careful What You Wish For” Department: California May Take Beach Easement

Here’s what we are reading (or listening to) this Tuesday:

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Continue Reading Tuesday Reading List – Flood Takings, Cuba Property, Beach Access, And … Space Aliens

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Here are the cases and other items I either spoke about or mentioned at today’s Transportation Research Board‘s 57th Annual Workshop on Transportation Law in Cambridge, Massachusetts:

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Continue Reading Links And Materials From Today’s Transportation Research Board Session