Our friend Paul Schwind has been keeping us up to date on the progress, vel non, of the legal challenge to the Honolulu rail project in the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. We last reported on the status of this litigation on February 18, 2014, when the Ninth Circuit issued
Brandt Round-Up
Here are some reports and commentary on the Supreme Court’s opinion in Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States, No. 12-1173 (Mar. 10, 2014).
- Supreme Court Hands Down Disappointing Decision for Trails in U.S. (Rails-to-Trails Conservancy)
- Supreme Court rules for landowner disputing US claim to bike-trail right of way (ABA Journal)
- Family
Lawprof Joseph Sax Passes
As noted on the LegalPlanet blog, law professor Joseph L. Sax has died (“In Memoriam: Joseph L. Sax, Gentleman, Scholar, Giant of Environmental Law“). Although we came at the issues from utterly different positions, there’s no question that he will be missed.
I recently had the opportunity to give a presentation on the
SCOTUS Benchslap: Railroad Right Of Way Is An Easement, Just Like We Said A Long Time Ago
As we predicted it would after oral argument, today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the property owner’s favor in Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States, No.12-1173 (Mar. 10, 2014). Chief Justice Roberts wrote for the entire Court less Justice Sotomayor, who filed a solo dissent. SCOUTSblog posts a summary of
Alabama: Recovering Compensation When The Govt Floods Your Land With Contaminated Water Is Just What Inverse Condemnation Is For
Here’s another one we’ve been meaning to post for a while. In Ex parte Alabama Dep’t of Transportation, No.1101439 (Dec. 6, 2013), the Alabama Supreme Court concluded that inverse condemnation is the right cause of action when the government causes contaminated water to enter an owner’s property, resulting in (alleged) damage.
The plaintiff alleged that
The Real Stories Behind “The Descendants”
Our old U. Hawaii Wills & Trusts lawprof Randy Roth was the legal advisor to The Descendants, the 2011 George Clooney movie about a Honolulu lawyer (our review here). Professor Roth has published an article about his experience, which also details the legal cases that were the stories-behind-the-story. Here’s the summary:
The Descendants
Paging Dr. Merriam, Stat: One Case Of “Koontz Catatonia”
Since this is the season for self-congratulatory industry awards, we can’t overlook one of our industry’s highest honors, the Zoning and Planning Law Report Land Use Decision Awards (aka the “ZiPLeRs”). For those of you who do not subscribe to the Zoning and Planning Law Report, the “strangest, or at least more dramatic” land use
“Brandeis Brief?” Fuggedaboutit. The New Standard Is The Ilya Brief
Making the rounds today, a SCOTUS amicus brief filed by Ilya Shapiro (and no one else, Your Honors) at the Cato Institute, on behalf of Cato and satirist P.J. O’Rourke.
The issue in the case is “[c]an a state government criminalize political statements that are less than 100% truthful,” and the brief not only lists
Nichols On Eminent Domain: Oklahoma Appeals Court Upholds Jury Rights In Condemnation
Here’s one that we meant to post earlier, but slipped through the cracks.
In Oklahoma eminent domain actions, the issue of valuation is first presented to a board of three commissioners (“disinterested landowners”) from the county in which the condemned property is located. The commissioners report to the court, and if one party doesn’t care
Aloha, Justice Acoba
Yesterday, according to the coconut wireless, was the official last day on the Hawaii Supreme Court for Associate Justice Simeon Acoba. State court justices and judges face mandatory retirement at age 70, and Justice Acoba’s birthday is coming up in March.
While time marched on, so did the process for selecting his successor