An interesting story in the LA Times about eminent domain abuse and free speech in St. Louis, Missouri, “Political protest hits a brick wall.” The story details the conflict between a property owner who commissioned a two-story mural on the side of a building that says “End Eminent Domain Abuse” and city officials who have
Land use law
Washington (State) Court Of Appeals: One-Size-Fits-All Open Space Regulation Is Not Roughly Proportional
By Robert H. Thomas on
In Citizens’ Alliance for Property Rights v. Sims, No. 59416-8-1 (Wash. Ct. App. July 7, 2008), the Court of Appeals of the State of Washington held that a county ordinance which prohibited a landowner from clearing 50% to 65% of his property violated a state statute prohibiting counties from imposing a “tax, fee, or…
Brief in Opposition in Ceded Lands Case
By Robert H. Thomas on
Posted in Appellate law, Land use law
The State of Hawaii Office of Hawaiian Affairs has filed its Brief in Opposition, arguing the U.S. Supreme Court should not review the “ceded lands” case, Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs, No. 07-1372 (cert.petition filed Apr. 29, 2008). The State has sought a writ of certiorari to review of the decision by…
Nollan/Dolan Challenge to Maui’s 50% Housing Exaction Is A Takings Claim Subject To Williamson County
Relying on Williamson County Regional Planning Comm’n v. Hamilton Bank, 473 U.S. 172 (1985), the US District Court for the District of Hawaii today denied a property owner’s motion for summary judgment in a case challenging the County of Maui’s “workforce housing” exaction ordinance. Kamaole Pointe Development LP v. County of Maui, No.
Professor Tribe on Wilkie v. Robbins: Death by a Thousand Cuts
By Robert H. Thomas on
I’ve finally had a chance to read the article posted on SSRN by Professor Laurence Tribe about the Supreme Court’s decision in Wilkie v. Robbins, 127 S. Ct. 2588 (2007), “Death by a Thousand Cuts: Constitutional Wrongs without Remedies after Wilkie v. Robbins.”
The essay explores the incentives createdby Wilkie v. Robbins…
Calling Bill Clinton: the Ninth Circuit Has Your Answer About What The Meaning of “Is” Is
By Robert H. Thomas on
Posted in Land use law
This is only tangentially related to the usual topics of this blog, but given the first sentence in the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians v. NGV Gaming, Ltd., No. 05-17066 (June 26, 2008), I could not resist:
This appeal presents the single, seemingly straightforward questionwhether the word “is” really means…
Seminar: Land Use Institute – Planning, Regulation, Litigation, Eminent Domain and Compensation (August 13-16)
Get ready for this year’s Land Use Institute conference on “Planning, Regulation, Litigation, Eminent Domain, and Compensation,” to be held in Boston on August 13-16, 2008. I can’t attend this year, but have in the past, and like all ALI-ABA land use conferences, it looks like it will be well worth going if you can. …
Reply Brief in Ninth Circuit Maui Vacation Rental Appeal
By Robert H. Thomas on
Posted in Appellate law, Due process, Land use law, Property rights, Vacation rentals, Vested rights
Today we filed the Reply Brief (925kb pdf) in Maui Vacation Rental Association, Inc. v. County of Maui, No. 08-15251, the Ninth Circuit appeal from the Hawaii district court’s dismissal of MVRA‘s complaint which sought to declare Maui’s shut down of vacation rentals illegal.
I won’t go into the details, since the Reply…
Note to Self: Avoid June 23 at the Supreme Court
If my office ever takes another Fifth Amendment case up to the U.S. Supreme Court (my Damon Key colleagues Charlie Bocken and Diane Hastert argued and won Kaiser Aetna v. United States, 444 U.S. 164 (1979)), we’re going to do whatever we can to avoid filing it so it gets considered on June 23. …
Cert Denied in Three Cases
The US Supreme Court today denied review to three cases we’ve been following:
- Goldstein v. Pataki, No. 07-1247 (petition for cert. filed Mar. 31, 2008) (pleading pretext post-Kelo) – Justice Alito would have granted the petition. Justice Alito had not been appointed to the Court at the time of Kelo, so
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