The Morris Family LLC v. South Dakota DOT, No. 26831 (Dec. 23, 2014), the latest from the South Dakota Supreme Court, is more focused on due process and civil procedure than on eminent domain, but since the background of the case involves a 1970 condemnation judgment, and a present claim for inverse condemnation claim
Tex App: City Can’t Condemn Wastewater Facilty
Continuing with our year-end opinion dump, here’s the conclusion of the Texas Court of Appeals in City of Blue Mound v. Southwest Water Co., No. 02-13-00343-CV (Nov. 13, 2014):
Because as a matter of law the City is attempting to condemn Appellees’ water and wastewater system as a going concern, because as
Eminent Domain, Contingency Fees, And Fee-Shifting Statutes: A “Constellation Of Factors”
Most of you already know that under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause, the fees expended by a property owner to recover just compensation are not recoverable as part of just compensation. That has never made much sense to us, for how does a condemnor fulfill its obligation to put the property owner in as good
Mississippi App: If You Allege A Taking, Your Complaint Should Mention “Taking”
The DOT took some of the Garretsons’ land, and the construction of the bypass highway which necessitated the taking ended up flooding the Garretsons’ remaining land, so they sued, alleging the damage was caused by the DOTS’s “gross negligence in the constructon and change of drainage.” The trial court dismissed, because the DOT is statutorily
From Russia, With Love: “State Trumps Capitalism”
Via colleague Dwight Merriam, comes this story from today’s New York Times, “Even Loyalty No Guarantee Against Putin,” about the post-Soviet version of crony capitalism:
A prominent businessman who knows Mr. Yevtushenkov said that Mr. Putin had eroded the very notion of property rights in Russia, even for those who displayed
Ohio App: “Inconveniences” Caused By Highway Construction Not A Taking
Major interstate highway bridge construction nearby resulted in homeowners suing ODOT for inverse condemnation because “extreme noise, pounding and vibrations” caused their home (red arrow) to be uninhabitable. The Ohio Court of Claims granted ODOT summary judgment, and the property owners appealed.
The homeowners argued that the trial court applied the wrong standard, and should
“The Interview” Reviewed: Not Quite Ready For The John Peter Zenger Honorary Oscar
Bottom line: low expectations exceeded.
Several months ago, when we first saw the previews for “The Interview,” it didn’t look all that funny, even though we liked James Franco and Seth Rogan’s last joint effort (ha, ha), the entertaining stoner comedy “This is the End.” Mildly disappointed (our general rule is
Wisconsin App: Two Parcels Can Be Treated As One For Regulatory Takings Purposes, If They Are Contiguous
You regulatory takings mavens know the “denominator” issue. It first came into our collective consciousness in the Penn Central case, where the Supreme Court concluded, among other things, that the property to be analyzed for regulatory takings purposes was not just Penn Central’s air rights, or even the parcel which it wanted to develop. Instead
HAWSCT Confirms Election Contests Are Tough!
The statutory standards for an original jurisiction action in the Hawaii Supreme Court challenging the outcome of an election are pretty rigorous. You’ve got to show acts or omissions that “could cause a difference in the election results.” Haw. Rev. Stat. § 11-172. In other words, you must show that if you are right about
A “Savage Appraisal” Indeed: DOT Argues That Its Statement Of Valuation Is A Confidential Settlement Offer
Here’s the Virginia Department of Transportation’s answering brief in the case which we posted about last week, Ramsey v. Commissioner of Highways, now pending before the Virginia Supreme Court.
Under Virginia’s condemnation procedures, as a prerequisite to a court exercising jurisdiction over an eminent domain action, a state condemning agency must as an