It’s tough with all that’s swirling around all of us to keep focused on non-virus related things. But because we think that’s one way to keep calm and carry on, we shall continue to endeavor to do so. But come on, being takings and dirt lawyers we also can’t help viewing current events through
Eminent Domain | Condemnation
The Royal Origins Of “Police Power” Hawaii-Style: The King v. Tong Lee (1880)
Here’s one for our Hawaii folks, in case you all are curious about the origins of the analytical framework which courts use to review the legality of measures taken by the authorities in the name of “public health” that have an impact on the uses of private property.
As far as we can tell, The …
NH: Subdivision Of Nonconforming Lot Was Not Reasonably Likely – Availability Of A Variance Is A Factual, Not Legal, Question
Torromeo Industries owned a 12-acre parcel zoned “Industrial.” Two buildings — one a home, the other a 4,000 square foot industrial building — were on the land. Sole access to the property way by a private driveway along the 149 foot frontage of the parcel. Industrial zoning has a minimum lot size of 80,000 square…
Cert Denied In Carousel Farms
This morning, in this order, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision in the Carousel Farms case.
That’s it, that’s all we’ve got.
Emergencies, Police Power, Commandeering, And Compensation: Essential Readings
The current headlines — and a couple of inquiries from colleagues and clients — got us to thinking about government power in times of crisis and the tension between that power and property and other individual rights.
On one hand, court decisions going back over the centuries have told us that courts are reluctant to…
Unboxing The 2021 (Scottsdale) ALI-CLE Eminent Domain Conference Swag: Get Yours Today!
Missed out on the 2021 ALI-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation Conference swag?
Well fear not: here’s your chance to get your high-class reminder — a kit of road warrior essentials — to save the Conference date on your calendar. We’re already underway with planning the agenda and faculty, so it’s never too soon…
#CoronavirusLaw: Is There A Difference Between “Commandeering” Property In An Emergency, And “Taking” It?
You remember the TV trope where Starsky, Hutch, or some other police officer is in hot pursuit of a dangerous criminal and flags down a motorist and “commandeers” their private vehicle and drives off?
We thought of that when we were reading the news reports about various governments invoking their emergency powers to respond to…
New IJ Cert Petition: Purposely Destroying Your House Could Be A Taking, Even If Govt Was Exercising Its Police Power
Here’s the cert petition that we’ve been eagerly waiting to drop in a case we’ve been following (and which gathered a lot of public — and academic — attention and outrage).
Yes, this is the case where the Village police pretty much destroyed a family home in the course of their efforts to dislodge a…
Mark Your Calendars (Friday, Apr 24, 2020): ALI-CLE Webinar – Strategies for Litigating Regulatory Taking Cases
At the recent ALI-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation Conference in Nashville, our colleagues, New York’s Jon Houghton and Hawaii’s Dave Day presented a very informative program on litigating regulatory takings cases. Jon is a property owner-side lawyer, while Dave is a Deputy Attorney General who represents the State of Hawaii in such…
Cases And Materials From Today’s WM Law ACS Talk: “Pipelines at the Intersection of Environmental, Administrative, and Property Law: How Divergent Interests Joined Forces To Challenge Big Energy”
We just completed a fun hour-long talk with the students in the William and Mary Law School’s American Constitution Society, the Native American Law Society, and the Society on Environmental and Animal Law about the various pipeline cases that are ongoing nationwide. (If our tech worked, we shall post the audio recording in a future…







