April 2023

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Our Pacific Legal Foundation Property Rights Litigation Tyler team,
and Counsel of Record Christina Martin (second from right)

Here are your links to the buzz about Tyler v. Hennepin County, No. 22-166, our law firm’s case which argues that Hennepin County’s seizure of Ms. Tyler’s condo and then keeping the excess equity over what she owed in property taxes and fees, is an uncompensated taking of private property, and also violates the Excessive Fines Clause.

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Continue Reading Tyler SCOTUS Takings Argument Round-Up

Coffee
Coffee is for closers.
(Yes, we were up and at the desk at 4 a.m. local time
to listen live. We just needed a direct injection of coffee.)

Here is the transcript, and the audio recording of today’s U.S. Supreme Court arguments in Tyler v. Hennepin County, No. 22-166, our law firm’s case which argues that Hennepin County’s keeping the excess equity in Ms. Tyler’s home over what she owed in property taxes and fees, is an uncompensated taking of private property, and also violates the Excessive Fines Clause.

We will bring you the analysis of the arguments and the pundits’ predictions in a subsequent posts. But for the time being here these are in case you missed out listening live. Stay tuned.

Transcript, Tyler v. Hennepin County, No. 22-166 (U.S. Apr. 26, 2023)

Continue Reading Today’s Takings SCOTUS Oral Argument Transcript And Recording: Tyler v. Hennepin County

SCOTUS

Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, the U.S. Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments in Tyler v. Hennepin County, No. 22-166, our law firm’s case which argues that Hennepin County’s keeping the excess equity in Ms. Tyler’s home over what she owed in property taxes and fees, is an uncompensated taking of private property, and also violates the Excessive Fines Clause.

Listen to the arguments live, here.

We posted some preview links earlier this week here. But wait, there’s more!

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Continue Reading More SCOTUS Takings Previews (Argument Tomorrow, 10am ET)

If everything the Ninth Circuit says in its unpublished memorandum opinion in Craneveyor Corp. v. City of Rancho Cucamonga, No. 22-55435 (Apr. 20, 2023) is accurate, there’s no way to ever draft a complaint alleging a facial Penn Central regulatory taking that will survive a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.

From what we can gather (this is an unpublished memorandum opinion, after all), the property owner asserted a facial takings challenge to some sort of zoning regulations that restrict its use of two parcels it owns. We’re not sure what restrictions. See slip op. at 2 (“The complaint asserts a facial takings challenge under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to a city zoning plan that allegedly restricts development on two parcels of land owned by CraneVeyor.”).

Two theories: Lucas and Penn Central.

The court made short work on the facial Lucas claim, concluding that…

Continue Reading CA9 (unpub.): You Can Never Adequately Plead A Facial Penn Central Taking For City Zoning Restrictions

The Court has already started loading up next Term’s property rights docket, with last week’s grant of this cert petition.

Before we go further, a disclosure: our law firm colleague Deborah La Fetra filed an amicus brief urging the Court to grant review. Thus, we’re not going to be taking a deep dive into the issues, but will leave that to others. Luckily, lawprof Ilya Somin (as is often the case) beat us to the punch, analyzing the issues in “Supreme Court Decides to Hear Important Asset Forfeiture Procedural Property Rights Case” at the Volokh Conspiracy. Check it out.

Here’s the Question Presented:

In determining whether the Due Process Clause requires a state or local government to provide a post seizure probable cause hearing prior to a statutory judicial forfeiture proceeding and, if so, when such a hearing must take place, should district courts apply…

Continue Reading SCOTUS To Weigh In On Due Process In Civil Forfeiture

Take a deep dive into the arguments and amicus briefs

This Wednesday, April 26, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Tyler v. Hennepin County, No. 22-166, our law firm’s case which argues that Hennepin County’s keeping the excess value in Ms. Tyler’s home over what she owed in property taxes and fees, is an uncompensated taking of private property, and also violates the Excessive Fines Clause.

Here are links to programs, summaries, and events to help you understand the arguments and issues, as well as registration for post-argument analysis:

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Continue Reading Get Ready For SCOTUS Takings Arguments (Wednesday, April 26, 2023)

In what the court termed a “matter of first impression,” slip op. at 5, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held in Beaver Street Investments, LLC v. Summit County, No. 22-3600 (Apr. 21, 2023), that the statute of limitations in a § 1983 takings claim for a local government’s alleged home equity theft (for more on that issue, see here) began to run when the period when a homeowner can redeem a foreclosure ended, and not when (as the government argued) the government made the decision to acquire the home (the final adjudication of foreclosure).

As the majority noted:

The dispositive issue in this appeal is what constituted the “act of taking.” See id. In other words, the Court must determine when, as a matter of law, the County took BSI’s property without paying for it. See id. The County argues that…

Continue Reading CA6: Taking Occurs, And Statute Of Limitations Begins To Run, When Foreclosure Redemption Period Expires And Not Before

HAWSCT-1

Update: the court has rescheduled the arguments to June 22, 2023, at 10 a.m.

The Hawaii Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in an important eminent domain case about severance damages for the Honolulu Rail Authority’s condemnation of land in Honolulu for one of its stations (assuming, of course, that the under-construction rail line actually gets past downtown, or simply stops where its historic predecessor, the Oahu Railway terminated more than a century ago).

Here’s the details and the court’s description of the issues (scroll to the bottom), from the Hawaii Judiciary’s web site.

[Barista’s note: we won’t be commenting on this one in detail, because this was our case when we were in private practice.]

Thursday May 18, 2023 – 10 a.m.

NOS.

SCAP-22-0000335 (Consolidated with Nos. SCAP-22-0000336,
SCAP-22-0000337, SCAP-22-0000338, SCAP-22-0000340,
SCAP-22-0000341, SCAP-22-0000343 SCAP-22-0000344,
SCAP-22-0000345, AND SCAP-22-0000352)

SCAP-22-0000335, SCAP-22-0000336, SCAP-22-0000337,
SCAP-22-0000340, SCAP-22-0000341, SCAP-22-0000343,
SCAP-22-0000344, AND SCAP-22-0000345

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Continue Reading Hawaii Supreme Court To Hear Major Severance Damages Appeal In Rail Takings Cases

Screenshot 2023-04-20 at 19-13-52 Condemnation 101 2023 Preparing and Presenting an Eminent Domain Case ALI CLE

Missed out on the 2023 ALI-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation Conference back in February in Austin, and the legendary “Condemnation 101” track?

Well, here’s your chance to get the knowledge. On May 18, 2023, ALI-CLE is going live with a rebroadcast of that program, including real-time Q & A with the program Planning Co-Chairs.

As we’ve noted before, the Condemnation 101 program is a great “basic training” program for lawyers new to the eminent domain and takings practice. But it is also a fantastic refresher course for those experienced dirt lawyers looking to brush up on the fundamentals.

CLE credits are available, of course. And unlike the in-person program back in February, there’s no danger of ice storm delays!

More about the program here, including registration information, fees, the agenda, and the faculty. And, just because you are a reader of this…

Continue Reading Condemnation 101 (2023), Redux

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Good crowd.

Here are the cases and other materials we spoke about on Friday at the 22d Annual Texas Eminent Domain Conference, in Austin. A big thank you to the Planning Chairs and to our friends at CLE International for the speaking invite.

The other cases discussed are in your materials!

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The nearby Caldwell County Courthouse. A classic.

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Why did no one tell me that Jabba’s Palace is in Austin?Continue Reading Links And Materials From The 22d Annual Texas Eminent Domain Conference