Most of you already know that under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause, the fees expended by a property owner to recover just compensation are not recoverable as part of just compensation. That has never made much sense to us, for how does a condemnor fulfill its obligation to put the property owner in as good
A “Savage Appraisal” Indeed: DOT Argues That Its Statement Of Valuation Is A Confidential Settlement Offer
Here’s the Virginia Department of Transportation’s answering brief in the case which we posted about last week, Ramsey v. Commissioner of Highways, now pending before the Virginia Supreme Court.
Under Virginia’s condemnation procedures, as a prerequisite to a court exercising jurisdiction over an eminent domain action, a state condemning agency must as an
Ill App: First Condemnation Was Not Res Judicata To Second
The first time the government tried to take the property, it screwed up: the ordinance authorizing the taking failed to state that the property was necessary, and failed to adequately describe the property to be taken. The trial court dismissed the case.
As we all know, in most cases that means the government just reboots
Amicus Brief: Eminent Domain Jury Can’t Be Kept In The Dark About The Condemnor’s Initial Valuation
Under Virginia’s condemnation procedures, as a prerequisite to a court exercising jurisdiction over an eminent domain action, a state condemning agency must as an initial step present to the property owner a statement of “the amount which [the condemnor] believes to be just compensation,” and must include an appraisal if an appraisal is required:
The
Opening Brief In Property Reserve: Eminent Domain Is Such A Bother
Here’s the Opening Brief on the Merits, filed by the State of California in Property Reserve, Inc. v. California, No. s217738 (Sep. 26, 2014).
That’s the case in which the California Supreme Court is reviewing a court of appeal decision which invalidated California’s entry statute (Cal. Civ. Pro. Code § 1245.010 et seq.), concluding
Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference – Panel Videos Now Available
For those of you who couldn’t join us at the William & Mary Law School last month for the Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference (see our report here), the law school has made videos of the four panel presentations available here.
They’re high quality videos, so be prepared for big downloads, but the
Oregon Supreme Court Asked To Rule Whether Highway Access Is Property Right
In reading State of Oregon v. Alderwoods (Oregon), Inc., No. A146317 (Sep. 17, 2014), we learned two things we didn’t know before: that the Oregon Court of Appeals can sit “en banc,” and also that it can affirm by an equally-divided court. Eight judges considered the case, and since the split was 4-4, the
Links From Today’s ABA Talk On The AIG Bailout Takings Case
To all who were able to join today’s ABA Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate’s Condemnation, Zoning and Land Use Committee’s call on the AIG takings trial, currently pending in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, thank you for participating. I’ve posted the entire talk (minus questions) above.
Here are the links to the
2014 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference Report: Honoring Michael Berger
“You can’t have rights without advocates.”
– Michael Berger
We’re at the William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia today for the 11th Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference. As we’ve noted earlier, Michael Berger is this
ALI-CLE 2015 Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation & Condemnation 101 Agendas And Faculty Announced
If you haven’t already, please mark you calendars: the agendas and faculty lists for the February 5-7, 2015 ALI-CLE eminent domain programs in San Francisco have been finalized. Registration is ongoing, and there’s even a few more days left for the early registration discount. Substantial group discounts are also available.
We’re talking, of course