Photo of Robert H. Thomas

Robert H. Thomas

This is one post I wish I didn’t have to write. I recently learned that long-time colleague, friend, and kindred spirit Jim Mee passed away in September.

Jim was one of the good guys, a true giant in the Hawaii land use and eminent domain Bar. His accolades are many, his list of professional accomplishments

There’s not a lot of direct takings love in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s opinion in Melendez v. City of New York, No. 20-4238 (Oct. 28, 2021), but there’s enough there that you might want to read it anyway.

Because the opinion resurrected the plaintiffs’ Contracts Clause claim. You heard

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We thought we posted the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit’s recent opinion in a takings case,  Golf Village North, LLC v. City of Powell, No. 20-4177 (Sep. 23, 2021), earlier, but a search of the blog reveals we did not, so here we go.

The City built a new 23-acre

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Please plan on joining us next Wednesday, November 3, 2021, at 8pm ET for the next gathering of the Eminent Domain and Right of Way Club, a social media gathering spot “geared toward right of way professionals as well as anyone interested in the acquisition of land rights for infrastructure projects.” Register for the

FrankLUI Co-Chair Prof. Frank Schnidman introducing the faculty

Here are the links to the cases and issues that we just finished speaking about at the 35th Annual Land Use Institute (more information on the LUI here). Today was day 1 of a multi-day remote program and the sessions are available ala carte, so there’s still

Here’s a new law journal article, just published, which we recommend everyone read.

Michael M. Berger, “Whither Regulatory Takings,” 51 Urban Lawyer 171 (2021). Available online here.

If you need encouragement to read it, here’s a sample:

The thrust of this article is severalfold. First, Holmes was right. His simple conclusion on

Check out the U.S. Court of Appeals’ opinion in F.P. Development, LLC v. Charter Twp. of Canton, No. 20-1147 (Oct. 13, 2021), in which the court affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the property owner on its unconstitutional conditions takings claim. 

Short story: Canton’s tree ordinance prohibits property owners from removing

Here’s the latest in a case we’ve been following (one in which we guessed from the beginning was headed where it is today).

The Zitos claim that their property was taken without compensation. They sued for compensation in federal court. Knick tells us that this is okay, right? Well, the problem for the Zitos is

It’s already the law in Georgia that the Georgia Constitution’s Takings Clause waives whatever sovereign immunity the government may enjoy when it comes to monetary relief in a takings claim. See Ga. Dept. of Nat. Res. v. Center for a Sustainable Coast, 755 S.E.2d 184 (2014).

But it remained an open question whether the

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Worth reading: an article in ALI-CLE’s Practical Real Estate Lawyer, authored by our friends and colleagues Steve Clarke, Justin Hodge, Jeremy P. Hopkins, and Christian Torgrimson, “Inverse Condemnation: Standards and Burden of Proof.”

A subscription to PREL costs, but for this issue the good people at ALI have made it available for