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Development Conditions Requiring Off-Site Property Acquisitions Not Subject to Takings Law?

We’ve reported in the past that public agencies are more frequently demanding certain off-site public improvements to accommodate proposed private developments as a condition of entitlement approval.  These can range from...more

Zoning Activities Are Not Protected Speech

When a property owner brings a regulatory taking / inverse condemnation claim based on a city or county’s zoning decisions, the owner often provides context and history, including public statements made by staff, board...more

Water Agencies Beware Before Proceeding with Forced Municipalization

Despite California’s record high levels of precipitation in 2023, water scarcity remains a pressing issue. Governments have turned to using the power of eminent domain to acquire investor-owned utilities in an effort to...more

California Water Views - 2024 Outlook

Water Agencies Beware Before Proceeding with Forced Municipalization - California’s state water system serves roughly 40 million people and irrigates nearly 10 million acres of farmland. The 2023 water year was ranked as...more

New Uniform Act Regulations Taking Effect June 3, 2024

The regulations in 49 CFR Part 24 implementing 42 USC Ch. 61, generally known as the “Uniform Act,” are being updated for the first time since 2005. New regulations are set to take effect on June 3, 2024 (the “Rule”). We will...more

5/20/2024  /  Appraisal , Eminent Domain , USPAP , Waivers

Supreme Court Holds that Legislative Impact Fee Programs Can Constitute a Taking

Today, April 12, 2024, in Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overruled more than two decades of California precedent, holding that legislatively established development impact fee programs must...more

Eminent Domain for Off-Site Public Improvements Associated with Private Development

Most private development projects in California trigger some sort of discretionary public approval, whether it be environmental review, zone changes, permits, or other forms of entitlement approvals.  As part of that approval...more

Condemning Replacement or Substitute Property to Mitigate Damages

A public agency’s acquisition of private property can sometimes trigger significant severance damages due to eliminating access, cutting off utility service, or taking a substantial portion of a property’s parking.  As...more

A Taking or Just a Fee?

We’ve been closely watching the Sheetz v. County of El Dorado case, which has worked its way up through the California trial and appellate courts all the way to the US Supreme Court.  For a quick refresher, the case concerns...more

Reminder for Upcoming Eminent Domain / Right-of-Way Events

2023 has been another interesting year in the eminent domain world. We’ve reported on some interesting court decisions, we’ve seen funding make its way to some critical infrastructure projects in California and changing...more

Regarding landslide liability, the Court is not interested in the “Chicken or Egg” debate

With the frequency of wildfires and flooding, landslides are becoming more frequent throughout California.  When public agencies have water pipelines located in hillsides, the situation presents the classic “chicken or egg”...more

Public Agency’s Resolution of Necessity Not Entitled to Conclusive Presumption When Using Eminent Domain for Takeover of Public...

In California, when a government entity adopts a resolution of necessity to acquire property by eminent domain, that resolution typically “conclusively” establishes the requisite findings of public use and necessity. However,...more

Summary of Major Eminent Domain Cases & Legislation: January 1, 2023-June 30, 2023

UNITED STATES UPDATES - Arkansas- City of Sherwood v. Bearden, 2023 Ark. App. 67 (2023 Ark. App. LEXIS 68)- Facts: Property owners filed an inverse condemnation action alleging the City had placed rainwater...more

Railway Fails to Establish Right to Use Eminent Domain

In eminent domain cases, it is uncommon that right to take challenges are upheld, and when they are, it is typically a procedural deficiency that can be cured. It is even more unusual where a right to take challenge is...more

Summary of Major Eminent Domain Cases & Legislation: June 1, 2022-December 31, 2023

UNITED STATES UPDATES - California - Today’s IV, Inc. v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 2022 Cal.App. LEXIS 840 (2022 WL 5107251) - Facts: A property owner who owned a hotel in Los...more

City’s Planning to Acquire Property Does not Trigger Precondemnation Damages or Inverse Condemnation Liability

Planning and constructing large public works projects can take years. When those projects will impact private property, owners are left in a difficult situation, as the cloud of condemnation hangs over their property, making...more

A Lesson on Water Runoff and Inverse Condemnation Liability

With all the recent storms in California, private property is bound to suffer impacts from storm water runoff, landslides, erosion and subsidence. Understanding whether the government bears responsibility for such damage is a...more

How to Account for Increases or Decreases in Property Value Due to the Proposed Project

A recent article from Border Report, Tijuana residents holding out for more money, slowing construction of border crossing, caught my attention.  Not only because we're advising on the border crossing project on the U.S....more

Buying Property Does Not Transfer a Takings Claim

Despite undertaking due diligence, a buyer of real estate may miss pre-existing property damage or a public improvement that was installed without permission or right. Does the new buyer have a cause of action for a taking...more

City Imposed Penalty of One-Year Building Moratorium Does Not Constitute a Taking

Local government agencies sometimes enact short-term building moratoriums for certain areas to further assess changes in land use patterns or slow growth. Those moratoriums imposed across a large area usually do not...more

When Does Downzoning Result in a Regulatory Taking?

As we have previously discussed, downzoning (changing the zoning designation for property from a more intensive use to a more restrictive use) can possibly rise to the level of a regulatory taking, depending on each...more

Summary of Major Eminent Domain Cases & Legislation: January 1, 2022 - May 31, 2022

Facts: The property owner alleged a per se taking and inverse condemnation in the expansion of a road that increased surface and stormwater runoff flowing under the property and ultimately a sinkhole in the parking lot. The...more

California Coastal Act Trumps Local City Regulations Banning Short-Term Housing Rentals

Housing in California is a hot topic, particularly when the short-term rentals are thrown into the mix. Those opposed to short-term rentals often argue that it removes permanent housing stock from the market and that such...more

Recovery of Attorneys’ Fees Not Permissible for Lawyer/Spouse Plaintiffs Under Uniform Relocation Act

A recent Federal Circuit case, Haggart v. United States, No. 21-1660 (June 22, 2022) determined that under the Uniform Relocation Act, like other fee-shifting statutes, attorneys’ fees are not recoverable if the lawyer is one...more

Businesses Shut Down by COVID-19 Regulations May Not Bring Inverse Condemnation Claims

For the first time, a California state appellate court has decided whether businesses may bring takings claims against the government due to COVID-19 shutdown orders. In 640 Tenth, LP v. Newsom, the California Court of Appeal...more

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