Following up on a post from earlier today, here are the briefs in the Pono v. Molokai Ranch, Ltd. cert petition, which seeks HAWSCT cert review of the Intermediate Court of Appeals’ decision, reported at 119 Haw. 163, 194 P.3d 1126 (2008). The issue is whether Hawaii circuit (trial) courts have original jurisdiction to
2008
NY Times on Land and Power on Molokai
By Robert H. Thomas on
Posted in Land use law, Water rights | Public trust
Worth reading: “In an Age-Old Quest for Balance, an Uncertain Shift” from the New York Times, a story about the land use “Battle of Molokai Ranch” (as the story puts it). If you want to begin to understand the land use game in Hawaii, take a couple of minutes and read this article.
California Court: No Business on Property = No Goodwill Taken
By Robert H. Thomas on
Posted in Eminent Domain | Condemnation
In City and County of San Francisco v. Coyne, No. A118222 (Dec. 5, 2008), the California Court of Appeals (First District) held that the owner whose property was taken
The Brief Amicus Curiae: How To Win Friends, And Influence Courts
By Robert H. Thomas on
Posted in Appellate law
Good article at Slate by an ex-SCOTUSblogger, advocating for more “liberal group” amicus participation at the cert stage in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, “The Early Brief Gets the Worm” —
When left-leaning groups ignore an opportunity to tell the court tohear the cases most likely to be decided in…
Hawaii Agriculture at Risk: Water Law and Land Use
By Robert H. Thomas on
In theory, Hawaii reveres agriculture: pre-western contact Hawaii was primarily an agrarian society, many of us trace our family’s history to the post-contact “plantation days,” and today, even environmental groups proclaim they support farmers and ranchers and want to “keep the country country.” Who among us of a certain age didn’t work in…
State of Hawaii’s Merits Brief in SCOTUS Ceded Lands Case
By Robert H. Thomas on
The State of Hawaii filed its merits brief in the “ceded lands” case, Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs, No. 07-1372 (cert.granted Oct. 1, 2008). Download the brief here.
The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing the decision of the Hawaii Supreme Court in Office of Hawaiian Affairs v. Housing and Community Dev. Corp. …
Our Honolulu Advertiser Op-ed on Navy Sonar Case
By Robert H. Thomas on
Posted in Appellate law, Environmental law
Along with my Damon Key colleague Mark Murakami, I authored a commentary published today by the Honolulu Advertiser about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Navy sonar case, Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.,No. 07-1239 (Nov. 12, 2008):
Ruling preserves Navy strength in defense
The United States has done more…
9th Circuit: Revised Opinion in McClung v. City of Sumner
A panel of the Ninth Circuit has revised its earlier opinion in McClung v. City of Sumner, No. 07-35231 (Sep. 25, 2008), adding a footnote:
On slip Opinion page 13750, insert a new footnote 3 at the bottom of the page after the sentence that ends “. . . applies to Ordinance 1603.” (and…
Cert Denied in Braun
By Robert H. Thomas on
The U.S. Supreme Court today issued an order denying review of the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Braun v. Ann Arbor Charter Township, 519 F.3d 564 (6th Cir. 2008), a case we discussed here. The petition expressly asked the Court to overrule Williamson County. In San Remo Hotel, L.P. v. City & County …
Teleconference on How to Deal With NIMBYs
By Robert H. Thomas on
Posted in Events | Conferences, Land use law
Check this out: an upcoming teleseminar on “Not in My Backyard (NIMBY): Development Resistance.” “This teleconference will provide practical, actionable tools toanticipate and avoid community resistance to controversial land useprojects and to actively build community enthusiasm for the proposal.” Sounds good to me. For this and other land use-related lexicon, see NIMBYs, BANANAs…