You know the “amortization” doctrine: when an existing legal use is declared illegal, the government can avoid a takings claim by slowly phasing out the use, supposedly to allow the owner to recoup investment. The doctrine is established in Maryland by Grant v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, 129 A.2d 363 (Md.
Ohio: Necessity Is Judged By The Property Taken, Not The Overall Project
Thanks to a colleague giving us a heads-up, we’re starting 2023 with a neat case.
In Ohio Power Co. v. Burns, No. 2021-1168 (Dec. 29, 2022), the Ohio Supreme Court declined to apply a statutory presumption of necessity to the power company’s efforts to use eminent domain to expand the scope of several existing
The Good The Bad And The Ugly: There’s Something For Everyone In This Florida Takings Opinion
Here’s the latest from a case we’ve featured here before.
There’s something for everyone in the Florida District Court of Appeal (Second District)’s opinion in Jamieson v. Town of Fort Myers Beach, No. 2D21-2722 (Dec. 29, 2022).
Let’s start with the outcome: the court reversed the trial court’s summary judgment in a wetlands
North Dakota: State May Lease Out Property It Doesn’t Own As Long As It Calls It “Overinclusive Leasing Activity”
We’ve had the North Dakota Supreme Court’s opinion in Wilkinson v. Bd. of Univ. & School Lands, No. 20220037 (Nov. 10, 2022), in our queue for a while because it isn’t exactly the clearest opinion we’ve come across. It is relatively short, so that’s not the issue. But it is cryptic and poorly written
New Article: “Before Property: A Prehistory of Property Rights in Land”
We can’t claim to fully understand it (it’s full of words and phrases that frighten and confuse us), but we nonetheless commend to you a recent piece by lawprof Amanda Byer (University College Dublin), “Before Property: A Prehistory of Property Rights in Land.”
Here’s the Abstract:
This paper traces the origins of land
You Can’t Just Say “Redevelopment” – Take Now, Decide Later Isn’t A Public Use
A classically short opinion from the New York Supreme Court (Appellate Division, Fourth District) in HBC Victor LLC v. Town of Victor, No. 683 (Dec. 23, 2022). (So short that we were tempted to simply post the opinion and let you read it, because it will probably take you just as long to read
No Necessity: Landowner Met Burden – Condemnor Did Not Consider Other Sites
Check this out, a decision upholding a necessity challenge to a taking.
Necessity, you say? What’s this? Aren’t necessity challenges subject to an even more deferential judicial standard of review than the rational basis test applied to declarations of public use? Didn’t the U.S. Supreme Court in Adirondack Ry. Co. v. New York, 176
Fireside Podcasts: Eminent Domain Podcast’s Holiday Special 2022, And APA’s Talk With Nolan Gray
This week is light for many of you, so instead of the deep and insightful analysis of recent decisions that we’re known for (ha), we instead recommend to you two podcasts to warm the chilly nights.
So fire up the hearth, strap on those earbuds, and listen away.
First up, what is quickly becoming a
CA9: Land Use Is A “Sensitive Area Of Social Policy” So We’re Gonna Let A Local Govt Bleed The Property Owner Out
Here’s another one from the Ninth Circuit, argued on what one advocate called “land use day at the Ninth Circuit” (except, unlike the other two cases argued that day, the decision in this one gets published).
In Gearing v. City of Half Moon Bay, No. 21-16688 (Dec. 8, 2022), the panel upheld
These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Things: Dirt Lawyer Holiday Gift Giving Guide (2022 Edition)
Genuine Pennsylvania coal…
… anthracite, not bituminous
What to get the dirt lawyer in your life for the holidays? Charlie Brown got a bag of rocks for Halloween, so there’s that. Or there are the old reliable origami boulders (see below). But you are better than that and want to be a good gifter.