For the Millennials:
Public Use | Kelo
Record Attendance (But There’s Still Time For You Last-Minute Filers) At Nashville ALI-CLE Eminent Domain Conference
Picture 1: how normal people see pie.
Picture 2: how you see pie if you’re coming to the
ALI-CLE Eminent Domain Conference.
If you get the above, you probably are already set to join us next week for the 37th Annual ALI-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation Conference in Nashville. (If not, shame on…
The Circle Is Now Complete: A Sampling Of Final Paper Topics From William and Mary Law’s Eminent Domain & Property Rights Course
If there’s one downside to the law school experience from the teacher’s side of the lectern, it’s grading. Especially at a law school like William and Mary that has a pretty strict mandatory curve.
In an upper-division course like “Eminent Domain and Property Rights Law,” where we’re dealing with some very high-level…
New Cert Petition: It’s Not Enough For A Condemnor To Invoke A “Classic” Public Use
Here’s the latest in a case (and issue) we’ve been following.
In Puntenney v. Iowa Utilities Board, 928 N.W.2d 829 (Iowa 2019), the Iowa Supreme Court answered a question that has been making its way around: what “public” does the “public use” requirement cover? For the Iowa Constitution, for example, does a taking have…
“That said…” A Prohibited Economic Development Taking Is OK If It Is For A Road
A very short opinion we’ve been meaning to post for a while.
In Hickman v. Ringgold County, No. 19-0123 (Nov. 6, 2019), the Iowa Court of Appeals considered property owners’ claim that the taking of their land to create a access road for the neighboring concrete plant was not a valid public use. Seemed…
(Nearly) Last Chance To Join Us In Nashville For ALI-CLE’s Eminent Domain Conference
You can also fly, drive, or bike to the upcoming 37th Annual ALI-CLE Eminent Domain & Land Valuation Litigation Conference. in Nashville. Limited space still available, so don’t delay further and register now. We’re on track to record attendance, so you don’t want to miss the best nationally-focused three-day program on our area of…
Space Still Available For ALI-CLE Eminent Domain Conference, Nashville Jan 23-25, 2020
If you get this, you need to attend the 37th Annual ALI-CLE Eminent Domain & Land Valuation Litigation Conference, January 23-25, 2020, in Nashville.
And if you don’t get this, you need to attend more.
ND SCT: It’s Enough That The Resolution Of Necessity Described The Public Use As “Flood Protection Project”
Quick quiz: a taking of private property for a public flood protection property is a “public use,” right?
Yes, but that wasn’t quite what the property owner had a problem with in a recent decision from the North Dakota Supreme Court, City of Fargo v. Wieland, No. 2019-153 (Dec. 12, 2019).
Rather, it was…
New SCOTUS Amici Brief: Invoking A “Classic” Public Use Isn’t Enough When The Circumstances Reveal “A Private Purpose May Be Afoot”
Here’s the amicus brief we filed yesterday in a public use case we’ve been following that asks whether pretext and private benefit are irrelevant as long as the condemnor invokes a “classic” public use. In this case, the Colorado Supreme Court overturned the court of appeals’ conclusion that even though the purported purpose of the …






