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
Ripeness | Knick
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…
Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference – Panel Videos Now Available
For those of you who couldn’t join us at the William & Mary Law School last month for the Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference (see our report here), the law school has made videos of the four panel presentations available here.
They’re high quality videos, so be prepared for big downloads, but the…
New Amicus Brief: Overrule Williamson County! (At Least The State Exhaustion Requirement)
Today, on behalf of the National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, we filed this amicus brief in Kurtz v. Verizon New York, Inc., No. 14-439 (cert. petition filed Oct. 14, 2014). The cert petition, filed on Kurtz’s behalf by the Institute for Justice, is posted here.
That’s the case in…
2014 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference Report: Honoring Michael Berger
“You can’t have rights without advocates.”
– Michael Berger
We’re at the William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia today for the 11th Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference. As we’ve noted earlier, Michael Berger is this…
Federal Court: San Francisco’s Housing Exaction Violates Nollan-Dolan-Koontz
Update: San Francisco is going to appeal.
It cost a lot to live in San Francisco, these days. A whole lot, whether you own, or rent.
If you’re a renter, however, you should hope and pray that your landlord wants out of the rental business. Because under a San Francisco ordinance, property owners…
New Cert Petition: Does Williamson County Ripeness Apply To Procedural Due Process Claims?
When the Second Circuit issued its opinion in Kurtz v. Verizon New York, Inc., 758 F.3d 506 (2d Cir. 2014), our comments were rather harsh (“Which means that to reach the result, the court simply rewrote the plaintiff’s complaint and in the process blurred the distinction between a takings claim … and a procedural…
Federal Court: DC’s Tax Sale Statute May Be A Taking
Here’s one for the regulatory takings mavens, because it has just about every conceivable issue: ripeness, res judicata (yes, arugment was that the complaint was filed both too early and too late), Rooker–Feldman, the Tax Injunction Act, and an analysis of whether the property owner’s complaint stated a claim for relief under…
2d Cir Extends Williamson County Ripeness “Final Decision” Requirement To ADA Claims
Ah, Williamson County. We’ve ranted about it before, so we won’t do so here (again). But takings mavens know that a property owner must meet two tests before she can raise a takings claim against a state or local government in federal court: the state or local government must have reached a final…
Tennessee Finally Recognizes Regulatory Takings Cause Of Action – A Quarter Century After The US Supreme Court Wrongly Assumed It Did

Tennessee Supreme Court, Nashville
In Phillips v. Montgomery County, No. M2012-00737-SC-R11-CV (Aug. 18, 2014), the Tennessee Supreme Court held that a property owner could recover under the state’s inverse condemnation statute, Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-16-123, for a regulatory taking:
We hold that, like the Takings Clause of the United States Constitution, article I…

