Light posting this week — I’m at the Inverse Condemnation and Related Government Liability conference. If you’re attending, please look me up; I usually sit in the back row. If you couldn’t attend this year, you really should consider it in the future: it’s a great conference.
2007
▪ Takings and Historic Preservation: Penn Central
By Robert H. Thomas on
UH Law Professor Carl Christensen has kindly invited me to discuss takings law with the students in his historic preservation seminar on Monday. I think a good starting point is the granddaddy of historic preservation/regulatory takings decisions, Penn Central Trans. Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S. 104 (1978), a case that highlights…
▪ Land Use and Zoning Seminar
By Robert H. Thomas on
Posted in Events | Conferences
To all those who attended today’s sessions on Practical Guide to Land Use and Zoning, thank you.
Here is the upcoming attorney’s fee case in the US Supreme Court that I mentioned, the Hawaii fee-shifting statute in cases of “development” without a permit in environmental matters, and California’s Ehrlich v. City of Culver City…
▪ Ninth Circuit on Jury Trials in Federal Eminent Domain and Inverse Condemnation Valuations
By Robert H. Thomas on
Posted in Appellate law
In United States v. 191.07 Acres of Land (Martinek) (No. 04-35131, Apr. 4, 2007), the Ninth Circuit addressed two interesting issues in the context of a federal taking of unpatented gold- mining claims in Alaska’s Denali National Park.
The first is a question of appellate procedure: whether a party waives the right to appeal the…
▪ What is “Inverse Condemnation?”
By Robert H. Thomas on
Posted in Inverse condemnation, Regulatory takings
In United States v. 191.07 Acres of Land (Martinek)(No. 04-35131, Apr. 4, 2007), the Ninth Circuit set out a good definition of “inverse condemnation” in the context of when a property owner has a right to a jury trial for federal takings.
Where the [condemnor] does not acquire privately owned land statutorily…
▪ How Do You Say “Kelo” in Mandarin?
By Robert H. Thomas on
Posted in Property rights
The NY Times reports on the final chapter in the Wu Ping holdout drama:
Property disputes and illegal land grabs have accelerated recently as China’s economy expands at double-digit rates and farmland is gobbled up for industrial parks and skyscrapers. Government officials often have sided with developers, touching off riots and protests.
▪ Retaliation for Asserting Constitutional Right of Property
By Robert H. Thomas on
New Jersey Eminent Domain blog posts a good summary of the Robbins v. Wilkie case currently pending in the US Supreme Court:
The critical issue for Robbins and other property owners asserting their 5th amendment rights is whether they can do so without fear of retaliation by government officials. Many property owners affected by eminent…
▪ Adverse Possession: “Openly, Notoriously, Continuously, Exclusively” And . . .
By Robert H. Thomas on
Posted in Land use law
In a cert decision issued today in Wailuku Agribusiness Co., Inc. v. Ah Sam (No. 25930, Mar. 30, 2007), Supreme Court of Hawaii set forth the legal requirements for adverse possession in situations where there may be cotenants on the property claimed to have been adversely possessed.
I won’t get into the facts of…
▪ Inversecondemnation.com Reviewed
By Robert H. Thomas on
Posted in Articles and publications, Property rights
My thanks to Walt Harvey at Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for posting a very kind review of my work and this blog in Grass in Review:
When Robert is not wearing his private property ‘Superman’ suit he’s apracticing attorney with Damon, Key, Leong, Kupchak & Hastert andhas been selected by his peers to be…
▪ Nascent Private Property Rights in China
By Robert H. Thomas on
Posted in Property rights
The podcast of Jay Fidell’s most recent ThinkTech program at Hawaii Public Radio (KIPO FM89.3) has some interesting bits on the developing concept of private property ownership in the People’s Republic of China, and Wu Ping’s (hopefully not last) stand.
Perhaps experience is demonstrating that Locke’s principles have merit, and that protection of property…