2008

The audio file (30mb mp3) of the Supreme Court of Hawaii oral arguments in County of Hawaii v. Richards, has been posted here.  the appeal from two eminent domain actions on the Big Island of Hawaii. 

Here are the materials from today’s discussion:

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Farmers and ranchers should be aware of a new law passed by theLegislature last session that adds another layer of protection forHawaii agriculture.

A new section was added to the Land Use Law (chapter 205) requiringthat before the State Land Use Commission approves a petition for a“boundary amendment” (a change in the state’s land use…

West Hawaii Today reports on yesterday’s oral arguments in the Supreme Court of Hawaii in County of Hawaii v. Richards, the appeal from two eminent domain actions on the Big Island of Hawaii.   [Disclosure: my Damon Key colleagues Ken Kupchak, Mark Murakami, and Christi-Anne Kudo Chock and I represent the property owners.]…

Interesting decision from the California Second District Court of Appeals in Manufactured Home Communities, Inc. v. County of San Luis Obispo, No. B196426 (Oct. 15, 2008).  The case involves a writ of administrative mandate (administrative appeal for you non-Californians) reviewing the decision by the county Rent Review Board denying a request to increase the…

You snooze, you lose.  That’s the lesson from Turnacliff v. Westly, No. 07-15287 (Oct. 15, 2008), where the Ninth Circuit rejected a claim that California’s escheat statute, which sets a rate for interest on abandoned property, violated the Takings Clause.  The owner whose abandoned property was eventually returned (with statutory interest) claimed that the…

You may have been wondering why we’ve been closely following the U.S. Supreme Court arguments in Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.,No. 07-1239, the case about the Navy’s use of mid-frequency active sonar in training exercises off the California coast. Well, besides the fact that we filed an amicus brief in the case…

You have to wait until the government enacts a lousy law before you can run to court to challenge it.

That’s the lesson from Stonehouse Homes v. City of Sierra Madre, No. B195552 (Oct. 9, 2008), in which California’s Second District Court of Appeals held that a lawsuit challenging the city’s “moratorium resolution” was…