Can there be a more “Kentucky” thing than the Kentucky Derby? We can’t think of one. Today’s case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, West v. Kentucky Horse Racing Comm’n, No. 19-6333 (Aug. 28, 2020) is about the litigation stemming from the disqualification by the racing stewards of the “horse
New Ag Law In The Field Podcast Ep: Jim Spivey On Eminent Domain & Just Compensation
Tiffany Lashment’s “Ag Law in the Field” podcast is one of those you really should follow. Every episode is worthwhile in our opinion. The latest episode is a chat with Texas property owner lawyer Jim Spivey. From the show notes:
Eminent domain is one of the most popular topics we cover. Today, we are focusing on the important issue of compensation when property is being condemned. San Antonio-based attorney, Jim Spivey, joins us to talk us through many helpful concepts related to compensation, and offers important tips to Texas landowners dealing with eminent domain.
Check it out.
Continue Reading New Ag Law In The Field Podcast Ep: Jim Spivey On Eminent Domain & Just Compensation
Two Takings Cases On SCOTUS’s Sept 29 Conference
No Shortage Of Amicus Support For Takings Cert Petition (Lucas and Penn Central!)
A short while ago, we featured the cert petition in a case from the Big Island that we’ve been following as various pieces of it went up and down through both the state and federal court systems. See “New (Mike Berger) Cert Petition: ‘This case is the proverbial ‘Exhibit A’ of much that is …
Sixth Circuit: You Still Can’t Sue States In Federal Court For Takings, Even After Knick
Property owners sued the State of Ohio Department of Transportation’s Director (in his official capacity) in federal court after ODOT’s highway project resulted in flooding of their land. They raised two claims: the first, a taking under the Fifth (and Fourteenth) Amendments, and the second a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The relief sought:…
Fed Cir: No Taking For Invalidating Patent By Inter Partes Review (But You Knew That Already)
Reading through the Federal Circuit’s opinion in Christy, Inc. v. United States, No. 19-1738 (Aug. 24, 2020) (a case we’ve been following since its inception; see here for the complaint), doesn’t hold out a lot of hope for something new, because the Federal Circuit already ruled in Golden v. United States, 955…
Utah: As Long As A Taking Is For The Birds, Not The Enviro Plaintiffs, It’s A Public Use
In Utah Dep’t of Transportation v. Coalt, Inc., No. 20161063 (Aug. 17, 2020), the Utah Supreme Court dealt with a public use and a just comp issue.
The first is perhaps the more interesting. After a federal court upheld environmentalists’ challenge to the Environmental Impact Statement prepared by UDOT for its Legacy Parkway Project…
CA6: A Wrongful Civil Asset Forfeiture Is Not A Taking
Although the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit declined to publish its opinion in Ostipow v. Federspiel, No. 18-2448 (Aug. 18, 2020), we wish it had for a couple of reasons.
First, the name: it just rolls off the tongue, melodiously. “Ostipow versus Federspiel.” We just like how that sounds. Second, the…
Cal App: In Order To Have Standing To Raise An Inverse Claim For Loss Of Street Access, The Plaintiff Must Actually Own Property Abutting The Street
We know you are really busy, takings mavens, you don’t have to read all 47 pages of the California Court of Appeal’s opinion in Martis Camp Community Ass’n v. County of Placer, No. C087759 (Aug. 17, 2020). Instead, you can jump to page 44 for the good stuff.
Short story: the court held that…
What Books Do You Use For Your Remote Podium?
We’re done with our first day of class for the upper-level students at William and Mary. We’re teaching two courses this semester, the usual Eminent Domain and Property Rights, but also Land Use Law. We were set to begin a semester of “hybrid” instruction (some students in the classroom, with distancing in place, while others…



