Takings Round Up

• Heads up for an upcoming teleconference of interest - Supreme Court Rules on Eminent Domain for Private Development.  It will be held on July 16, 2008 starting at noon EDT, and features some of the A-listers in our area of law.  More information and registration information here.

• "First fence condemnation case reaches federal appeals court" reports the Dallas-Ft. Worth ABC affiliate, about one of the cases challenging the federal government's attempt to take property for a fence along the US-Mexico border:

Attorneys for Hilaria and Baldomero Muniz and another landowner have asked a panel of judges at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to void a federal judge's order that they open their land to surveyors for the border fence.

They argue that the district judge erred when he allowed government officials to attempt to negotiate property access after suing. They say the law requires the government to try to strike a deal before — not after — filing a lawsuit.

The issues in a similar case were discussed here.

• Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Extends Williamson County Ripeness Requirements to First Amendment Land Use Claims - the title says it all.  Read about the decision on Professor Salkin's Law of the Land Blog here.