We’ve commented on the various plans (mostly backed by a private venture capital outfit out of San Francisco) to have local municipalities seize underwater-but-performing morrtgages by eminent domain (see here and here, for example). Apparently the brainchild of Cornell lawprof Robert Hockett and sold as a “no lose” situation (see “Paying Paul
Surprise! Environmental Lawprof Dislikes Koontz
Some things are constant: the speed of light, the sun rises in the east. And Professor John Echeverria, the well-known environmental lawprof, has never met a taking he’s liked.
Even if that means disagreeing in one takings case with Justice Ginsburg writing for a unanimous Supreme Court, the unanimous Court in another takings
Exactions: Supreme Court Right On The Money
Well, the hammer finally dropped and the Supreme Court today issued its opinion in Koontz v. St Johns River Water Management District, No. 11-1447 (June 25, 2013). The opinion comes out on the next-to-last day of the Term presumably because — unlike the earlier two takings cases — Koontz was not unanimous, but was
SCOTUS On Exactions: Nollan/Dolan Apply
Today, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Koontz v. St Johns River Water Mgmt District, No. 11-1447 (cert. granted Oct. 5, 2012), holding that the nexus and proportionality standards apply to government demands for money as well as land, and that a property owner need not accept the permit in order to challenge
Waiting For Koontz
Mostly mising from all the anticipation over the Supreme Court’s “blockbuster” cases on same sex marriage, voting rights, and affirmative action, is the Court’s third takings decision of the term, Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District. Professor Ilya Somin primes the pump in this post, “Still Waiting for the Koontz Decision
New Cert Petition: Is The Right To Collect Assessments A Compensable Property Interest?
Remember the case in which the Fifth Circuit held that a townhome association’s right to collect maintenance fees — recognized as property under state law — is not “compensable property” in an eminent domain action? In United States v. 0.073 Acres of Land, 705 F.3d 540 (5th Cir. 2013), the court held concluded that
Upcoming ALI-CLE Conference: Land Use Institute – Planning, Regulation, Litigation, Eminent Domain, and Compensation
Mark your calendars: On August 14-16, 2013, ALI-CLE is putting on the annual Land Use Institute. It’s in San Francisco, which is very convenient for those who may be attending the ABA Annual Meeting the week earlier. A good excuse to stay longer.
The Land Use Institute, now in its 29th year, is designed
More On The Democratic Party’s “Open Primary” Challenge
Ian Lind has more on the federal lawsuit by the Hawaii Democratic Party that seeks to invalidate Hawaii’s “open primary” system. Start here at his blog (“Dem lawsuit: Bold strategy or self-inflicted injury?“), then continue to the full story at Honolulu Civil Beat (“Hawaii Monitor: Primary Politics“).
Hawaii adopted the open
Cal App Tackles Pretext … But Not Eminent Domain Pretext
This is a long one from the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District (58 pages, with an 11-page dissent), so we’re not going to go into detail. But if a local government’s conflict with an all-powerful state agency, shoreline and coastal law, or how the concept of governmental “pretext” is treated in areas outside of
Members Only: Hawaii Democratic Party Seeks Closed Primary
A slight detour into our other favorite area of law, election law and voting rights. Yesterday, the Democratic Party of Hawaii (finally, after years of hemming and hawing) pulled the trigger on a federal court lawsuit seeking to invalidate Hawaii’s “open primary” laws (Haw. Const. art II, § 4, Haw. Rev. Stat. ch.