Links From ABA Condemnation Committee Conference Call

A very interesting conference call today, focusing on the property-related decisions by SCOTUS nominee Sotomayor and the takings case recently accepted for review by the U.S. Supreme Court. Here are the links to some of the cases and other topics discussed during today’s call, and other items of interest which we didn’t have time for:

• Judge Sonya Sotomayor’s decisions about eminent domain and regulatory takings

• Resource page for the Florida beachfront takings case, Stop the Beachfront Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep’t of Environmental Protection, No. 08-11 (cert. granted, June 15, 2009).

• On Judicial Takings, And The Hawaii Water Rights Backstory In Stop The Beach Renourishment – our summary of Robinson v. Ariyoshi, 753 F.2d 1468 (9th Cir. 1985) and Sotomura v. County of Hawaii, 460 F. Supp. 473 (D. Haw. 1978), two cases regarding judicial takings relied upon by the cert petition,

• Scalia and O’Connor’s dissent from the denial of cert in Stevens v. City of Cannon Beach, 510 U.S. 1207 (1994) (“As a general matter, the Constitution leaves the law of real property to the States. But just as a State may not deny rights protected under the Federal Constitution through pretextual procedural rulings, see NAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson, 357 U.S. 449, 455-458 (1958), neither may it do so by invoking nonexistent rules of state substantive law. Our opinion in Lucas, for example, would be a nullity if anything that a State court chooses to denominate “background law” — regardless of whether it is really such — could eliminate property rights.”).

• McQueen v. South Carolina Coastal Comm’n, 530 S.E.2d 628 (S.C. 2000).

• Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robbins, 447 U.S. 74 (1980) (California Supreme Court’s interpretation of California Constitution’s free speech clause to require a shopping center to allow handbilling on its property was not a taking).

• Another beachfront case – Severance v. Patterson, No. 07-20409 (5th Cir., Apr. 23, 2009). 

• Case to watch: Casitas Municipal Water District v. United States, 543 F.3d 1276 (Fed. Cir. 2008). More here.

• Property owners entitled to damages including reasonable attorneys fees and costs for failed condemnation attempt, even if government prevails in intermediate steps. More here.

• Delegation of eminent domain power: redevelopment agency without power to take property until it enters into a development agreement when statute requires as a condition precedent. Eagan Economic Development Authority v. U-Haul Company of Minnesota, No. A08-0767 (Minn. Ct. App., May 19, 2009).

• Delegation of eminent domain power: statutory delegations strictly construed. Spokane Airports v. RMA, Inc., No. 26538-2-III (Wash. Ct. App., Apr. 28, 2009).

• Might Makes Blight In The New York Appellate Division – Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn v. Urban Dev. Corp., 2009 NY Slip Op 01395 (Feb. 26, 2009).

• Determining Eminent Domain Pretext In Serial Takings – County of Hawaii v. C&J Coupe Family Ltd. P’ship, 198 P.3d 615 (Haw., Dec. 24, 2008) (proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law on remand).

• Rose Acre Farms, Inc. v. United States,No. 2007-5169 (Fed. Cir., Mar. 12, 2009) – regulation restricting the sale of eggs was not ataking under Penn Central Transp. Co. v. City of New York,438 U.S. 104 (1978), because the economic impact of the regulation “wasnot severe” and the character of the government action “stronglyfavored” the government.