You remember that case about property on the rural north shore of Oahu, in which the City and County of Honolulu is condemning a vacant parcel in order to build a new fire station. The City hasn’t moved on building the station and hasn’t included money in the budget to do so. There’s even some question
42 U.S.C. § 1983 | Civil Rights
Today’s Other Supreme Court Property Rights Decision
In all of today’s excitement about the Court’s opinions in Horne v. Dep’t of Agriculture, No. 14-275, the “raisin takings” case which we posted about earlier, we almost lost sight of the other property rights decision issued by the Court, City of Los Angeles v. Patel, No.13-1175 (June 22, 2015).
The case did…
7th Circuit Tosses Prisoner’s Takings Claim Under Williamson County’s State Procedures Rule
Sorrentino v. Godinez, No. 13-3421 (Jan. 23, 2015) was a lawsuit by prisoners complaining that several items which they purchased from the prison commisary — a fan and a typewriter — were later declared by the warden to be prohibited contraband.
Under the new rules, their property was “removed,” and the prisoners given options…
9th Cir: No Need For Pullman Abstention In Aina Lea After Hawaii Supreme Court Ruling
Last we checked in with the Bridge Aina Lea case, the Ninth Circuit said it would hold off on a decision until the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in the associated state court litigation (see 9th Cir Says “Let’s Wait” On Hawaii Supreme Court To Rule In Bridge Aina Lea).
This is the federal court…
New Cert Petition: Must A Plaintiff Challenging An Ordinance For Facial Invalidity File Suit Before Her As-Applied Claim Has Ripened?
Here’s the latest in a case we’ve been following, the property owner’s cert petition, filed last week, in which a U.S. District Court invalidated a Florida county’s “Right of Way Preservation Ordinance” which allows it to land bank for a future road corridors by means of an exaction. The court concluded the ordinance …
2015 Hawaii Land Use Law Conference
Professor Richard Epstein began the Hawaii Land Use Law Conference with the keynote presentation on “Stealth Takings: Exactions, Impact Fees, and More,” which was his usual comprehensive and non-stop takedown of takings law.
Our panel on Impact Fees and Exactions After Koontz followed, and here are…
4th Cir OK’s City’s Sign Ordinance: You Can “Whisper” Your Anti-Eminent Domain Message, But You Can’t “Shout” It
In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concluded that Norfolk, Virginia’s sign ordinance did not violate the First Amendment, when it was applied to bar the anti-eminent domain banner shown above.
Central Radio Co. Inc. v. City of Norfolk, No. 13-1996 (4th Cir. Jan. 13, 2015), arose from…
Our Final 2014 Opinion Post: Vested Rights In North Carolina
Here’s that last case in our 2014 opinion queue, from way back in July. It’s also coincidentially the 2,500th post on the blog.
In Sawn Beach Corolla, LLC v,.County of Currituck, No. COA13-1272 (July 1, 2014), the North Carolina Court of Appeals considered vested rights and takings claims in a fact pattern than streched…
4th Cir: Takings Claim Against State Can’t Be Brought In Federal Court – State Immune Under The 11th Amendment
On one hand, the U.S. Court of Appeals’ opinion in Hutto v. South Carolina Retirement System, No. 13-1523 (Dec. 5, 2014) is old hat: the court concluded that a plaintiff alleging a federal takings claim could not bring that claim in federal court. But this case is different because it — unlike those where …
HAWSCT: Land Use Comm’n Can’t Rescind A Re-zoning Via Truncated Procedures
The Hawaii Supreme Court has issued a lengthy opinion in a case we’ve been following, DW Aina Lea Development, LLC v. Bridge Aina Lea, LLC, No. SCAP-13-0000091 (Nov. 25, 2014).
The litigation is a series of two lawsuits that originated in state court in the Third Circuit (Big Island), one an original jurisdiction civil rights…




