Penn Central
Don’t Miss Out: Join The “Big Guns” And Secure Your Space At ALI-CLE’s Upcoming Eminent Domain & Land Valuation Litigation Conference (Jan 23-25, 2020, Nashville)
We were not as creative as our colleague Paul Henry (see below), but our Planning Co-Chair Joe Waldo and I wanted to personally invite you to join the “big guns” in our area of law at the 37th Annual ALI-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation Conference, January 23-25, 2020, in Nashville, Tennessee.
We’ve…
What Is The Original Public Meaning Of The Fifth (And Fourteenth) Amendments?
Here’s the video of (most, but not all of) the recent session featuring four lawprofs discussing “Originalism and Constitutional Property Rights” at the Federalist Society lawyers’ meeting.
Interesting debate, all about the text of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, the “original public meaning of the Takings and Due Process clauses, and all that…
Latest In SCOTUS Penn Central Cert Petition
Here’s the latest in a case we’ve been following for a while, Smyth v. Conservation Comm’n of Falmouth, No. 19-223 (cert. petition filed Aug. 16, 2019).
The petition seeks review of a Massachusetts decision which held that a judge, not a jury, determines Penn Central takings questions, and also that the owner lost anyhow…
Washington (State) Supreme Court: All Those Opinions In Which We Held That Our Property Owners Have Greater Protections Under The State Constitution Were Just “Confused”
We add a flowchart to this post because the Washington Supreme Court on page 15 of its opinion in Yim v. City of Seattle, No. 95813 (Wash. Nov. 14, 2019) (em banc) (Yim I), includes a flowchart that purports to solve the regulatory takings puzzle once and for all.
Really.
You should…
Regulatory Takings Lawyers: Why You Should Pay Attention To The DACA Case
Yesterday’s Supreme Court arguments in what is known as the “DACA case” would normally not be something we’d cover on this blog. Yeah, the issue of whether the executive branch has the power to unwind (or, as the cert petition puts it to “wind down”) a prior administration’s executive actions is interesting and…
Register Now! ALI-CLE Eminent Domain And Land Valuation Litigation Conference (Nashville, Jan 23-25, 2020)
Registration underway, so come join us! Agenda full of hot topics in takings and appraisal law! The best national faculty! Renew friendships, and make new colleagues! And Nashville!
Download the brochure and make your plans for January. (Don’t wait, we’ve sold out the past three years.)
One From The Gut: Outlawing “Bump Stocks” Not A Taking
If you didn’t know takings, and just had to venture guess whether a court would ever conclude that the outlawing of “bump stocks” (a device which attaches to a semi-automatic rifle and makes it cycle really quickly so that it works somewhat like a fully-automatic rifle) was a taking, what would you say?…
Latest Ep, Eminent Domain Podcast: Short-Term Rentals, Tiki Island, The Castle, Penn Central
Last week, along with Bob Grace, I (Robert (don’t-call-me-Bob) Thomas), was a guest on Clint Schumacher’s Eminent Domain Podcast. Stream it above, or download it here.
Clint and I had a wide-ranging discussion that centered on the recent trend of limiting short-term rentals, the legal pushback, and (of course) takings. We discussed…
Here Be Dragons: New Amicus Brief Asks For A “Fresh Look” At The Penn Central Test
Here’s the amici brief we are filing today in support of the Petitioner in a case we’ve been following, Smyth v. Conservation Comm’n of Falmouth, No. 19-223 (cert. petition filed Aug. 20, 2019).
The Massachusetts Court of Appeals held that a judge, not a jury, determines Penn Central takings questions, and that the…



