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
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
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
We’ve previously reported on Senate Bill 917, which was introduced on February 3, 2020, by Senator Wiener (D-San Francisco) to establish a process for a potential government takeover of investor-owned electrical, gas and...more
Brad Kuhn was quoted extensively in the Daily Journal article “Century-Old Doctrine Haunts Fire Litigation.” The article provides an overview of how developments in inverse condemnation that occurred in 2019 pose numerous...more
1/21/2020
/ Commercial Bankruptcy ,
CPUC ,
Equipment Failure ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Just Compensation ,
Liability ,
PG&E ,
Private Property ,
Property Damage ,
Property Owners ,
Public Utility ,
State Law Remedies ,
Utility Rates ,
Wildfires
On August 15, 2019, the California Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”) issued its first inverse condemnation opinion in more than 22 years in the case City of Oroville v. Superior Court of Butte County, Case No. S243247...more
8/20/2019
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Municipalities ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Private Property ,
Property Damage ,
Property Owners ,
Public Agencies ,
Public Improvement Projects ,
Public Utility ,
Sewer Systems ,
State and Local Government ,
Strict Liability
In Governor Gavin Newsom’s first State of the State address, he called for the creation of a strike force charged with developing a comprehensive strategy to address the destabilizing effect of catastrophic wildfires on the...more
4/19/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Cost Recovery ,
CPUC ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Liquidity ,
Property Owners ,
Public Utility ,
Regulatory Takings ,
State and Local Government ,
State Funding ,
Wildfires
In Governor Gavin Newsom’s first State of the State address, he called for the creation of a strike force charged with developing a comprehensive strategy to address the destabilizing effect of catastrophic wildfires on the...more
Public agencies are routinely facing Buy America requirements in their infrastructure projects. Some of the most difficult situations involve how to satisfy Buy America obligations with public utility relocations. The rules...more
There has been a remarkable movement lately throughout California: local government agencies are attempting to take over investor-owned, quasi-public utility companies in an effort to reduce utility bills to their...more