After the usual preliminaries — certification of a 253-member class, subclass certifications, discovery, and motions and cross-motions for summary judgment — the parties in a rails-to-trails takings case in the Court of Federal Claims mediated the dispute and ended up agreeing to $110 million plus interest as just comp for the property taken, and slightly
In A Takings Case, Jury Decides Whether There’s Been A Substantial Impairment Of Access
Appellate decisions reversing a grant of summary judgment because there are disputed factual questions are not 100% satisfying. Yes, if you are the plaintiff/appellant, you live to fight another day instead of facing the exit door. But you haven’t won yet either, and the hard part — proving that you should win, and not merely
HAWSCT Oral Arguments In Seawall Hot Potato Case
A case that we’ve been following with some mild amusement has reached the Hawaii Supreme Court, where it was argued last week.
Our amusement stems from the fact that shoreline and beachfront property in Hawaii — especially when that property is in the fabled “Gold Coast” of Waikiki at the foot of Diamond Head —
Final Post: More Reasons To Attend The ALI-CLE Eminent Domain Conference
We know we’ve been doing the hard sell lately, with multiple posts on the details of the upcoming 2016 Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation / Condemnation 101 Conference, which runs from January 28-30, 2016, in Austin, Texas. And this will be our last pre-conference post, we promise.
But me and my co-planning chairs, Joe
Lawtalk: Thirty Meter Telescope, Putting The “Puaa” Back In Ahupuaa, And Oprah Elections
In a segment called “Are the Courts Crazy?,” (their title, not ours!), Kelii Akina and I chat about the recent decisions in the Thirty Meter Telescope case, the pig hunting as a traditional and customary native Hawaiian practice case, Hawaii’s new Environmental Court, and the challenge to the Hawaiians-only election
ALI-CLE Eminent Domain Conference, Austin, TX – Nearly Here, But There’s Still Time To Register
We’re now only a bit more than two weeks away from the 2016 Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation – Condemnation 101 Conference, which runs from January 28-30, 2016, in Austin, Texas.
As we’ve noted here earlier, we think that this is going to be a fantastic conference that will cover a lot
Lawsuits Have Consequences: Aloha To Hawaii Sugar
When people think of “Hawaii,” many of them, me included, think of sugar. Those of us of a certain vintage who were raised in the islands, and whose families were tied to the sugar plantations once so ubiquitous (my mother’s family was from the Halawa Plantation and lived on what is now the site of
Latest On The Hawaiians-Only Oprah Election: Nai Aupuni’s Response To SCOTUS Contempt Motion
Nai Aupuni and the Akamai Foundation, the proponents and organizers of the Native Hawaiians-only “Oprah” election for delegates to a convention to organize a new Hawaiian government, have responded to the election objectors’ SCOTUS motion for contempt.
The Motion for Civil Contempt asked the Supreme Court to slap the State, the Governor, OHA and its
Exactions, Again
We’ve been tied up with other things the past few days, so haven’t had a chance to do much posting, but here’s something to tide you over, a piece from Florida colleague Jacob Cremer, “Why Exactions Law Should Bring Property Rights Advocates Cheer in the New Year.”
Land use and takings mavens, rejoice.
Hawaii Water Law, In A Nutshell
If you want a crash course in Hawaii’s unique (some would say weird) water law, you can’t do better than this video from Think Tech Hawaii, an interview with an old water hand, lawyer William Tam.
While he definitely has a perspective (one that, in our view, downplays the role of private