Uncategorized

Subscribe to Uncategorized via RSS

Eminent domain, regulatory takings, and property rights

  • Leone v. County of Maui, 128 Haw. 183, 284 P.3d 956 (Haw. App. 2012) (represented amicus curiae arguing that Williamson County does not require a landowner to seek legislative changes in order to ripen a federal takings claim).
  • County of Hawaii v. C & J Coupe Family Ltd. P’ship, 119 Haw. 352, 198 P.3d 615 (2008) (a court has an obligation to take seriously a property owner’s claim that the government’s proffered reasons for condemning private property is really just a pretext hiding private benefits)

    …
    Continue Reading Selected Reported Cases

    On Wednesday October 14, we live blogged the arguments in Goldstein v. New York State Urban Development Corp., the latest case involving the controversial Brooklyn Yards development and Kelo-like claims of eminent domain abuse in an economic development taking.

    Joining in the commentary were Pacific Legal Foundation attorney and property rights scholar Timothy Sandefur, and my Damon Key colleague and eminent domain litigator Mark Murakami.

    For a first hand report from the courtroom, check out Dean Patty Salkin’s comment.

    For the video of the argument, go here.

    <p>&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;altcast_code=75adc976b5″ &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;NY Court of Appeals Oral Arguments In Atlantic Yards Eminent Domain Abuse Case&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;</p>


    Continue Reading Live Blog Of NY Court Of Appeals Atlantic Yards Eminent Domain Abuse Case Oral Arguments

    Our coverage of the Hawaii Supreme Court oral arguments will go live on Tuesday, October 13, 2009, at approximately 9:45 a.m., Hawaii time. 

    <p>&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;amp;altcast_code=7c50a56fae” &amp;gt;HAWSCT Ala Loop arguments 10-13-2009&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;</p>


    Continue Reading 10-13-2009 Live Blog Of HAWSCT Arguments In Ala Loop Homeowners Appeal: Are State Zoning Laws “Environmental” Statutes?

    As noted in the story, we recently applied to the Hawaii Supreme Court for a transfer of the case from the Intermediate Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court, and for expedited consideration pursuant to Haw. Rev. Stat. § 11-52 (1993).

    Transfer of an appeal from the ICA to the Supreme Court is mandatory ifthe appeal involves “a question of imperative or fundamental publicimportance.” Transfer is discretionary if it involves “a question offirst impression or a novel legal question.” Haw. Rev. Stat. § 602-58 (1993).Appeals of residency issues are of great public importance and aresubject to speedy resolution under section 11-52, which provides”[w]hen the appeal is perfected, the court shall hear the appeal assoon thereafter as may be reasonable.”Continue Reading Transfer from ICA to Supreme Court

    Happy Birthday to us: we uploaded our first posts on this blog three years ago this day. In lawblog years, that’s quite a while.

    If you can’t already tell by the nearly 900 posts during this time, we enjoy doing this. Even even though it’s a lot of work, it’s rewarding. Mostly because of the readers, subscribers, and contributors whom this blog has allowed us to meet and get to know over the years.

    Finally, we wouldn’t be much without our fellow-travelers — those other law bloggers who, like us, make the time to share thoughts about the legal issues of the day. Here’s a partial list:

    …
    Continue Reading Entering Our Fourth Year

    Update: 8/6/2009, 8:00 a.m. HST: our servers are up.  If you sent something earlier but didn’t get a response, please resend.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    8/6/2009, 5:00 a.m. HST: We’re not ignoring you: the hawaiilawyer.com email servers are down for the second night in a row. If you are trying to email us, please stand by, your messages have not yet been delivered.

    In the meantime, if you need to contact me, email inversecondemnation@gmail.com.

    Continue Reading Programming Note: hawaiilawyer.com email servers are up

    AMTRAK

    Years ago, during a brief foray in the army, we employed a pretty simple job description: shoot, move, and communicate. This same axiom is an apt summary of our core mission as lawyers: win the case, go where the action is, and keep in contact — both with clients and the public.

    The old job summary resurfaced this week as I was yet again on the road, this time to the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago. This trip, however, deviated from the norm. Rather than fly, I decided to travel Old School: Amtrak’s California Zephyr from San Francisco to Chicago. It had been awhile since I’d been on a long-distance train trek and I was no longer sure what to expect, especially since the world does not pause while I take two and a half days to cover the same distance as a four-hour flight.

    It turned out…

    Continue Reading “Shoot, Move & Communicate” En Route To The ABA Annual Meeting

    Mr. Thomas, along with his colleagues in Damon Key’s Land Use Group, is one of the preeminent land use lawyers in Hawaii.

    He focuses on issues involving appeals, regulatory takings, eminent domain, water rights, land use (zoning and planning), shoreline issues, navigational servitudes, and voting rights.

    He has tried cases and appeals in all levels of Hawaii courts and administrative agencies including county planning commissions, county zoning boards of appeals, and the State Board of Land and Natural Resources.  He has also tried cases and appeals in California and the federal courts, including the Court of Federal Claims.

    Mr. Thomas received his LLM, with honors, from Columbia Law School where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and his JD from the University of Hawaii School of Law where served as editor of the Law Review. 

    Robert has been selected by his peers to be included in

    …
    Continue Reading Robert H. Thomas

    Update: the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on December 2, 2009. The transcript and our summary of the arguments are posted here (Petitioners’ argument), here (Respondents’ argument), and here (United States as amicus).

    Here are links and other items of interest about Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep’t of Environmental Protection, No. 08-11 (cert. granted. June 15, 2009).

    In the decision under review (Walton County v. Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc.,998 So.2d 1102 (Fla. Sep. 29, 2008)), the Florida Supreme Court heldthat a state statute which prohibits “beach renourishment” without apermit did not effect a taking of littoral (beachfront) property, eventhough it altered the long-standing rights of the owners to accretionon their land and direct access to the ocean.

    The opinion of the District Court of Appeal is available here. 

    Questions Presented

    The cert petition presents three questions:

    TheFlorida Supreme Court invoked “nonexistent rules…

    Continue Reading Beach Takings Case Resources (Stop The Beach Renourishment v. Florida Dep’t of Environmental Protection)