There’s not a lot of new territory forged in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in Pena v. City of Los Angeles, No. 24-2422 (Nov. 4, 2025), holding that the city could not be liable for a taking after SWAT officers severely damaged a home in the course of
Savannah Bound: Don’t Miss The 43rd ALI-CLE Eminent Domain & Land Valuation Litigation Conference (Jan. 22-24, 2026)
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
Free to Choose Podcast: “Eminent Domain”
Check this out: a podcast from Free to Choose Media, entitled “Eminent Domain,” published a couple of months ago.
But the description reveals a time capsule:
Recorded in 2003, Dennis McCuistion, former Clinical Professor of Corporate Governance and Executive Director of the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance at the University of Texas
Salus Populi Est Suprema Lex: 2025 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference Report
This past week we were busy with the 22d Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference at the William and Mary Law School.
Here’s the text of the remarks which I prepared for the session on “Public Safety, Private Property, and Just Compensation.” Note: because of time, I truncated what I planned on saying and kept
Kelo Reargued: Has 20 Years of Controversy Changed the Eminent Domain Debate?
As part of the Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference being held next week at the William and Mary Law School, the student-run Real Estate Law Society is producing a very interesting program that offers a look back on Kelo v. City of New London, in this that case’s twentieth year.
We’re going to
SCOTUS Grants Two Property Rights Petitions
This just in: in this Order, the U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari and agreed to review two cases which involve property and property rights.
First, in Pung v. Isabella County, No. 25-95, the Court will be considering these Questions Presented:
1. Whether taking and selling a home to satisfy a debt to
New Cert Petition: Are Water Rights “Property?”
Here’s a cert petition in a case we’ve been following.
This is a water fight in California, and it asks a fundamental question: is the right to beneficial use of water a property right? The Federal Circuit held no, the federal government possesses that right, not these owners.
Continue Reading New Cert Petition: Are Water Rights “Property?”Tex App: No Plan, No Public Use, No Eminent Domain: “I’m from the [Port], and I’m here [for a public use]” Is Not Enough
Be sure to check out the opinion of the Texas Court of Appeals (Fourteenth District) in Jones v. Port Freeport, No. 14-23-00948 (Sep. 18, 2025).
This is a challenge to the Port’s attempt to take property in an historic African-American community, with the stated purpose of the taking being “expansion of the Port Facilities” and “the development of business industries.” Slip op. at 3. The owners objected, asserting that there’s gotta be a plan. Or at least a better plan than that.
Continue Reading Tex App: No Plan, No Public Use, No Eminent Domain: “I’m from the [Port], and I’m here [for a public use]” Is Not Enough▪ The Eminent Domain “Holdout,” Graphically Illustrated
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
▪ Eminent Domain Abuse and Retaliation
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