We’ve had this one in our queue for a bit, but it seems now is a good time to lay out the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit’s opinion in McIntosh v. Madisonville, No. 24-5383 (Jan. 21, 2025). After all, the Due Process Clause seems to be in the news a lot
Tex App Dismisses Penn Central Claim – But What’s It Doing Weighing The Facts?
These days, when we have cases where there’s tinkering with the terms of rental agreements, we most often see local governments using their police power to force property owners to rent their properties on a long-term (more than 30 days) basis.
But in Bigelow Arizona TX-344, LP v. Town of Addison, No. 05-23-00642-CV (Apr.
Guest Post (Jennifer Polovetsky): “NY Zoning Law Mandating Contributions Deemed an Unconstitutional Taking”
Today we have a guest post by New York colleague Jennifer Polovetsky, who writes about an exactions case that is headed for the New York Court of Appeals. Disclosure: our firm represents the property owners in that court.
Thanks to Jennifer (and to the New York Law Journal) for allowing us to republish her
Virginia Eminent Domain Conference: May 8-9, 2025, Williamsburg
Virginians: now is a good time to register for the Virginia Eminent Domain Conference, May 8-9, 2025, at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg.
We have spoken and attended the Conference in past editions, and can report that it is excellent. We’re looking forward to joining friends and colleagues again in The Burg in the
2025 Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute, Denver (March 5-7, Denver U. Law School)
Registration is open and underway for this year’s edition of the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute in Denver, March 5-7, 2025. Location: University of Denver Sturm College of Law.
This conference is more what we’ll call “land usey” than ALI-CLE’s Eminent Domain & Land Valuation Litigation Conference (as the respective titles suggest), but there’s a
Fourth Branch Podcast: Talcott & Kochan On “Rebuilding California: Lessons from the Pacific Palisades Fire”
Check this out, a recent Fourth Branch pod featuring lawprof Donald Kochan and our law firm colleague Jeremy Talcott, “Explainer Episode 85 – Rebuilding California: Lessons from the Pacific Palisades Fire.”
Here’s the description:
The 2025 Pacific Palisades Fire has underscored the challenges of building in California’s complex regulatory landscape. In response
When The Substitute Teacher Gives You Homework: Justice Breyer Says Federal Court Needs State Court Decision Before Considering Takings Claim
You remember when in grade school you learned that your teacher was out for the day, and you were getting a substitute? It could be a very good day, or a very not-so-good day. Maybe the sub was cool, and you end up watching filmstrips. But if you drew the short straw, the
Show Me The Money: Reg Takings Claim Ripe Because City Made Its Decision Even If Owner Could Have Administratively Appealed
Nothing to do with the case, beyond the owner’s name.
But c’mon, its ABBA.
Ms. Money and her spouse own a home in San Marcos, Texas. That home is in a historic district.
But it turns out that some of that history isn’t pretty: one of the previous owners was “notoriously associated with the
Fla Ct App (en banc) In Takings Case: “failing to vindicate a right expressly stated in the Constitution is not judicial restraint but judicial abnegation. That we must not do.”
Shands Key, with the City of Marathon in the background
This just in: in Shands v. City of Marathon, No. 3D21-1987 (Fed. 5, 2025), Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals sitting en banc held that the city’s downzoning of property (Shands Key, shown above in an exhibit from the Key West trial we participated
Friday Dirt Law Round-Up
Here’s what we’re reading this day:
- Christian Britschgi (Reason), “18 Months After Wildfires Destroyed Some 2,000 Homes on Maui, Only 3 Have Been Rebuilt“
- Christy DeSmith (Harvard Gazette), “Study says tighter land-use controls hurt productivity, innovation among builders, fuel housing crisis“
- Steven Greenhut, “If California Can Suspend Permitting Rules After