inverse

Subscribe to inverse via RSS

Here at inversecondemnation.com we also cover eminent domain, regulatory takings, land use, and environmental issues. We even cover election law when it strikes our fancy.

But here’s one that’s in our core competency: in Frick v. City of Salina, No. 101,355 (July 9, 2010) the Kansas Supreme Court held that property owner-plaintiffs did not meet their summary judgment burden of opposing the city’s motion, and affirmed a judgment that the city did not inversely condemn their property by denying them the ability to construct driveways to access their land.

After the city condemned their property, the Fricks moved their businesses to another nearby site. The move, according to the Fricks, “was thwarted by the ‘inappropriate regulatory’ action of the City. Slip op. at 8. The regulatory actions complained of included:

(1) denial of reasonable access to the relocation site during the Project; (2) construction activities…

Continue Reading Kansas: Inverse Condemnation Case Resolved By Summary Judgment Burdens

If you can figure out the syntax of this post’s headline, you’ve just figured out the rationale of the Wisconsin Supreme Court in E-L Enterprises, Inc v. Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, No. 2008AP921 (July 2, 2010). In that case, the court held that the removal of groundwater was not a compensable taking because the property owner did not seek compensation for the taken water, but for damage to its building which relied in part on the groundwater for support.

Many years ago, in the course of constructing a new pipeline, the local sewer company removed groundwater under a neighboring building. Removal of the water resulted in the wooden supports under the building rotting, which caused the building to settle. The cost to replace the wooden supports with concrete supports was approximately $300,000.

The property owner brought claims for negligence, nuisance and inverse condemnation because the sewer company “physically took…

Continue Reading Wisconsin: Taking Groundwater Is Not A Taking Of A Building Damaged By The Taking Of The Groundwater