If you’ve ever wondered where the odd, backwards syntax of the Takings/Just Compensation Clause of the Fifth Amendment comes from, look no further than this highlighted provision in the original 1215 Magna Carta. Written in medieval Latin (natch), the sentence structure is not the same as English (modern or Old).
Continue Reading Magna Carta Pilgrimage, Part Duo
On a day earlier this week in which a different practice group in our firm Pacific Legal Foundation (incidentally led by a Property Rights lawyer, Chris Kieser, by the way) saw the U.S. Supreme Court agree to review a very important case, we also saw the Court deny certiorari in two takings cases we were watching.
Continue Reading SCOTUS Denies Two Takings Petitions, But Leaves Tantalizing Clues
We got underway today for the two-day Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference, now in its 23d year. Produced and sponsored by the William and Mary Law School and Queen Mary University of London, the conference focuses on (naturally) property rights, and is expressly designed to put property scholars in the same room as property practitioners.
Continue Reading Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference, London: Honouring The Work Of Professor James Penner
We’re in England for the upcoming Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference, and instead of heading directly to London from Heathrow, thought it would be a good time to take a short diversion to nearby Runnymede for what must be the O.G. Property Rights Pilgrimage (those visits we do from time to time to the actual sites of well-known cases).
Continue Reading Property Rights Pilgrimage, Runnymede Edition
You are no doubt familiar with the “property is a bundle of sticks” metaphor. For nearly a century, private property rights have been described as a “bundle of sticks,” with each stick representing a distinct right associated with the ownership of property: the right to possess it, to exclude others, to use, alienate, and develop it, and so on. The metaphor is common parlance — but is it truly a good way to actually capture what this thing called “private property” means?
Recently, Pacific Legal Foundation and the George Mason Law Review gathered judges, scholars, practitioners, and students at the Law School for a symposium to try to shed some light on that question
Continue Reading “Unpacking Private Property’s Bundle of Sticks” Symposium Report
Here’s the latest in an issue we’ve been on for a long time: whether government actions taken under the police power are categorically exempt from providing just compensation when those activities take or damage private property. In Blue 42 Organics, LLC v. Georgia Dep’t of Public Safety, No. S25G1493 (Sep. 9, 2026), the Georgia Supreme Court held no, and that the State was not categorically immune from an inverse condemnation claim just because the government damaged the property in the course of an apparently valid exercise of the police power.
Continue Reading Georgia: Invoking “Police Power” Doesn’t Automatically Evade Just Compensation When Govt Damages Private Property
A couple of weeks ago, we (along with nationally renown zoning law expert lawprof Michael Wolf), offered our thoughts on “Euclid at 100,” the most most (in?)famous zoning case, now coming up on its 100th anniversary. The session was recorded and the Federalist Society has now posted it, so if you couldn’t make it live, here’s your chance.
Continue Reading Euclid at 100: The Past, Present, and Future of Zoning (Recording)
Spots are filling up, so if you are even thinking about it, here’s the complete agenda for the 2026 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference, October 14-16, 2026, in London.
Continue Reading Still Time to Join Us For The 2026 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference (Oct. 14-16, 2026, London)
But can a private for-profit energy company that admittedly does not possess the power of eminent domain force its way onto private property on the theory that it needs entry so the government can evaluate whether to delegate it the power of eminent domain? In PSEG Renewable Transmission LLC v. Arentz Family, LP, No. 25-1730 (Aug. 6, 2026), the U.S. Court of Appeals thought so.
Continue Reading CA4 Puts The Cart Before The Horse: Private Entity Doesn’t Have The Power Of Eminent Domain, But It Is Likely To Get It If Only Those Pesky Owners Were Stopped From Exercising Their Right To Exclude
Time to sign up for the upcoming “Unpacking Private Property’s Bundle of Sticks” Symposium, sponsored by our shop and George Mason Law Review. September 15, 2026, 12:15 – 5:45 p.m., Arlington, Virginia.
Continue Reading Register Now For “Unpacking Private Property’s Bundle of Sticks” Symposium (PLF & GMU Law Review) (Sep. 15, 2026)