Clare Trapasso has a Realtor.com piece on what a Justice Kavanaugh could mean for real estate, property, and land use issues, “What Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh Could Mean for Real Estate,” where she correctly notes that “while commentators have been scrutinizing Kavanaugh’s record on hot-button topics like abortion and immigration, there’s been little discussion of what a more conservative court could mean for home buyers, sellers, and owners.”
She asked us for input, and here’s what we said:
“The Supreme Court has done some very interesting things on land use law that affect homeowners,” says Robert Thomas, a real estate attorney specializing in land use and eminent domain at the Honolulu-based law firm of Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert.
Thomas expects more property-related cases will make their way to the Supreme Court, brought by people hoping that the new bench will increase their odds of a victory.
While it’s impossible to know just how Kavanaugh would vote on every issue, there are indications from the circuit court judge’s substantial legal record that he may favor looser environmental and financial regulations (which affect consumers). Thomas says he expects him to be more sympathetic to builders and homeowners.
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In the end, which cases the nation’s highest court hears may be at least as important as what it decides. It only takes four justices to agree to hear a case.
“The question is: What is this guy interested in?” real estate attorney Thomas says. “That’s where he will make a significant difference.”
There’s a lot more, and a discussion of Kelo, Knick, the ESA and the Clean Water Act. The insights of colleagues Casey Pipes and Ilya Shapiro are included as well.
Check out the article here.