The wheels of justice may grind slowly, but they do grind. Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit granted a motion we filed back in June 2013, and permitted us to file this amicus brief on behalf of the Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association in a case that is scheduled to be argued in mid-February 2015, Rancho de
Ripeness | Knick
7th Circuit Tosses Prisoner’s Takings Claim Under Williamson County’s State Procedures Rule
Sorrentino v. Godinez, No. 13-3421 (Jan. 23, 2015) was a lawsuit by prisoners complaining that several items which they purchased from the prison commisary — a fan and a typewriter — were later declared by the warden to be prohibited contraband.
Under the new rules, their property was “removed,” and the prisoners given options…
New Cert Petition: Must A Plaintiff Challenging An Ordinance For Facial Invalidity File Suit Before Her As-Applied Claim Has Ripened?
Here’s the latest in a case we’ve been following, the property owner’s cert petition, filed last week, in which a U.S. District Court invalidated a Florida county’s “Right of Way Preservation Ordinance” which allows it to land bank for a future road corridors by means of an exaction. The court concluded the ordinance …
Still Time To Join Us For The 2015 ALI-CLE Eminent Domain Programs In San Francisco
This could be your view, winging your way to San Francisco in a couple of weeks, to join us for the 2015 ALI-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation Conference (and the concurrent Condemnation 101 program), at the Hotel Nikko, February 5-7, 2015.
There’s still a few spaces left, and time to register. We’re the…
Cert Denied In Kurtz: Williamson County Lives! (For Now)
It’s always a safe bet to predict that the Supreme Court will deny review in a case, and if that’s what you had guessed for Kurtz v. Verizon New York, Inc., No. 14-439 (cert. petition filed Oct. 14, 2014), today’s order list would prove you right.
That’s the case in which the Second Circuit…
2015 Hawaii Land Use Law Conference
Professor Richard Epstein began the Hawaii Land Use Law Conference with the keynote presentation on “Stealth Takings: Exactions, Impact Fees, and More,” which was his usual comprehensive and non-stop takedown of takings law.
Our panel on Impact Fees and Exactions After Koontz followed, and here are…
Williamson County Wonderfully MIA In Texas Court’s Ripeness Analysis
There’s one citation notably missing from the opinion of the Texas Court of Appeals in Anderton v. City of Cedar Hill, No. 05-12-00969-CV (Aug. 22, 2014): Williamson County.
This was case where in response to the city’s petition that the Anderdons’ use of their property was illegal, they counterclaimed that they had…
Federal Circuit On Williamson County Ripeness And Other Takings … Stuff
Biafora v. United States, No, 2013-5130 (Dec. 10, 2014), is one of those opinions that you don’t really look forward to reading. Something about the Federal Circuit seems to attract these type of takings cases, where the parties are many, the alphabet-soup regulatory environment is byzantine, and the effort of understanding the context often…
4th Cir: Takings Claim Against State Can’t Be Brought In Federal Court – State Immune Under The 11th Amendment
On one hand, the U.S. Court of Appeals’ opinion in Hutto v. South Carolina Retirement System, No. 13-1523 (Dec. 5, 2014) is old hat: the court concluded that a plaintiff alleging a federal takings claim could not bring that claim in federal court. But this case is different because it — unlike those where …
Amici Briefs In SCOTUS Due Process Ripeness Case – The End For Williamson County?
Here are all of the amici briefs in support of the property owners/petitioners in Kurtz v. Verizon New York, Inc., No. 14-439 (cert. petition filed Oct. 14, 2014).
That’s the case in which the Second Circuit threw out a complaint on Williamson County ripeness grounds. Odd thing was that the court held that a…



