just compensation

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Here’s the latest in a case we’ve been following. [Disclosure: this is one of ours, so we won’t be commenting much at all.]

In Pung v. Isabella County, No. 25-95, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering these Questions Presented:

1. Whether taking and selling a home to satisfy a debt to the government, and keeping the surplus value as a windfall, violates the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment when the compensation is based on the artificially depressed auction sale price rather than the property’s fair market value?

2. Whether the forfeiture of real property worth far more than needed to satisfy a tax debt but sold for fraction of its real value constitutes an excessive fine under the Eighth Amendment, particularly when the debt was never actually owed?

(Here’s the cert petition.)

Today, the petitioner filed the merits brief, arguing that yes, “[w]hen…

Continue Reading SCOTUS Merits Brief (Ours) In Just Comp/Excessive Fines Case

As we wrap up another year, it’s time to look ahead to the one event that always gets our eminent domain blood pumping: the annual ALI-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation Conference. Details, including faculty list, a complete agenda, and registration information is posted here.

Now in its 43rd year, this flagship gathering remains the undisputed national hub for practitioners, academics, appraisers, and anyone else who lives and breathes property rights law. Mark your calendars for January 22-24, 2026, when we’ll convene at the JW Marriott Plant Riverside District in Savannah, Georgia. Think historic charm meets Southern hospitality, with moss-draped oaks, riverfront vibes, and enough ghost tours to inspire a dozen inverse condemnation hypotheticals. (For those of you who prefer pixels to palm trees, a live webcast option is available.)

What makes this conference indispensable? For starters, it’s the place to reconnect and talk shop with the…

Continue Reading Savannah Bound: Don’t Miss The 43rd ALI-CLE Eminent Domain & Land Valuation Litigation Conference (Jan. 22-24, 2026)

In United States v. 191.07 Acres of Land (Martinek) (No. 04-35131, Apr. 4, 2007), the Ninth Circuit addressed two interesting issues in the context of a federal taking of unpatented gold- mining claims in Alaska’s Denali National Park.

The first is a question of appellate procedure: whether a party waives the right to appeal the denial of a demand for a jury trial by not seeking an immediate interlocutory appeal. 

The government instituted eminent domain proceedings against the landowner (which entitles the landowner to request a jury trial on the issue of just compensation), and the landowner filed a claim for inverse condemnation (which does not carry with it the right to jury trial).  The trial court held that the landowner had only a single claim for compensation, and the parties stipulated that the taking occurred on a date earlier than the government’s declaration of taking.  Consequently, the court held…

Continue Reading ▪ Ninth Circuit on Jury Trials in Federal Eminent Domain and Inverse Condemnation Valuations

In United States v. 191.07 Acres of Land (Martinek)(No. 04-35131, Apr. 4, 2007), the Ninth Circuit set out a good definition of “inverse condemnation” in the context of when a property owner has a right to a jury trial for federal takings. 

    Where the [condemnor] does not acquire privately owned land statutorily but instead physically enters into possession or institutes regulations that restrict the land’s use, the owner has a right to bring an “inverse condemnation” action to recover the value of the land.  Kirby Forest [Inds., Inc. v. United States, 467 U.S. 1, 4-5 (1984)].  “Such as suit is ‘inverse’ because it is brought by the affected owner, not by the condemnor.  The owner’s right to bring such a suit derives from the self-executing character of the constitutional provision with respect to condemnation.”  Id. at 5 n.6

(slip op. at 3865).  In Martinek…

Continue Reading ▪ What is “Inverse Condemnation?”

Check out this AP photo and the accompanying story “China’s ‘stubborn nail’ stands firm” —

Reminds me of the Warner Bros. classic “Homeless Hare,” where Bugs Bunny objects to a developer’s efforts to evict him from his hole: “Hey ya big gorilla, didn’t you ever hear about the sanctity of the American home?”

Wu Ping owns a home in Chongqing and apparently doesn’t want to get out of the way for redevelopment:

A legal battle has raged since she rejected the compensation offer as she has maintained that she cannot be forced to move out.

A local court ordered her to allow the structure to be torn down by Thursday, although she continued to refuse and it was not immediately clear what steps authorities would take next.

Property disputes are rife in China, often involving illegal land grabs by developers in collusion the government.

The national parliament…

Continue Reading ▪ The Eminent Domain “Holdout,” Graphically Illustrated

Steven Greenhut’s opinion piece at the Orange County Register, “The powerless have always been targets of eminent domain,” makes some good points about eminent domain abuse, and the recently-argued Wilkie case (regarding the right to be free from government retailition for defending a Fifth Amendment right), and is worth reading:

“Cities use code words,” explained Supervisor Chris Norby, a longtime foe of eminent domain abuse. “In the 1950s and 1960s, governments used the term ‘urban renewal,’ but critics knew that it was widely called ‘Negro removal.’ These days, we’re looking at forced gentrification,” as cities try to redevelop poorer areas into wealthy areas.

. . . .

Today’s code words and attitudes may be different than they were in the 1920s, but by giving government so much power to drive people off their land, we all are subject to the whims and rationales of officials. In the 1920s…

Continue Reading ▪ Eminent Domain Abuse and Retaliation