We just finished up with the oral arguments at the Ninth Circuit courthouse in San Francisco. We’ll have a more detailed report later today, but our initial reaction is that it looks like at least two of the three judges are very skeptical whether there was an appealable final order in the case, and thus
Rail
New Jersey Explains Prior Public Use And Railroad Takings
Here’s the latest from the New Jersey Supreme Court on the power of railroads to take property, and when land is already being put to a “prior public use” and thus immune from being taken.
In Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v. Intermodal Properties, LLC, No. A-117-11 (Aug. 6, 2013), the court held that the…
HAWSCT To Review Kawaiahao Church Cemetery Case
What’s the difference, if any, between a “cemetery” and a burial, and are burials in cemeteries exempt from archaeological review? That’s one of the issues the Hawaii Supreme Court agreed to review in this Order, by which it accepted the DLNR’s application for a writ of certiorari.
Eminent Domain And Condemnation Law Conference (Honolulu, Aug. 21, 2013)
Mark your calendars: on August 21, 2013, The Seminar Group is putting on the 2d Annual Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law Conference, in Honolulu (Hilton Waikiki Beach). Our Damon Key partner Mark M. Murakami is the Planning Chair, and the rest of the faculty is pretty good, too.
We’ll be speaking at two of the…
HAWSCT’s Latest On The “Private Attorney General” Fee-Shifting Doctrine
Here’s the latest decision from the Hawaii Supreme Court applying the “private attorney general” doctrine, which allows a prevailing party to recover fees and costs in certain limited circumstances. In Kaleikini v. Yoshioka, No. SCAP-11-0000611 (May 2, 2013), the court awarded attorneys’ fees and costs incurred on appeal to the plaintiffs who prevailed in…
One More Amicus Brief In Railbanking Case: Growing And Well-Documented Circuit Split
Here’s the third and final amicus brief supporting the petitioner in Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States, No. 12-1173 (cert. petition filed Mar. 22, 2013). The Pacific Legal Foundation brief argues:
This case raises important questions regarding the common law of property ownership and the certainty of titles in property.
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Amicus Brief In Railbanking Case: Circuit Split May Upset Title To Millions Of Acres
Here’s the amici brief of the Cato Institute and the National Association of Reversionary Property Owners supporting the petitioners in Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States, No. 12-1173 (cert. petition filed Mar. 22, 2013).
In that case, the Tenth Circuit’s opinion held that the term railroad “right of way” as used in…
Amicus Brief In Rails-to-Trails Case: Switching Tracks To Undermine Takings Claims
Here’s the amicus brief we filed today on behalf of our colleagues at Owners’ Counsel of America, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant cert in Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States, No. 12-1173 (cert. petition filed Mar. 22, 2013).
That petition asks the Court to review a Tenth Circuit…
Honolulu Rail And Federal Relocation Benefits
Our colleague Mark M. Murakami has published the first in a series of posts on his blog about legal issues surrounding the multi-billion dollar Honolulu rail project, “Honolulu Rail and the Uniform Relocation Act.”
Because the HART rail project will involve federal funds, federal laws and regulations provide property owners (and their tenants)…
Portland: Planning Utopia Or Hipster Paradise?
Having recently attended the 7th International Conference of the Academic Association on Planning, Law, and Property Rights in Portland, Oregon, we offer this irreverent view of that city’s culture, “Insufferable Portland,” by Mark Hemingway at the Weekly Standard. The landscape he portrays should be familiar to anyone who knows Portland, Berkeley, the…

