Civil Remedies › Commercial Real Estate › Constitutional Law

Temporary Regulatory Takings Do Exist in California!

Given the maze of procedural and substantive hurdles involved, property owners rarely succeed with regulatory takings claims. Even when owners do win, it is yet more uncommon for courts to award damages, instead allowing the...more

The Mechanics of Mechanics Liens

One of the most effective payment remedies for direct contractors, subcontractors and material suppliers is the mechanics lien. First conceived by Thomas Jefferson to encourage construction of the then “new” capital city of...more

Another Failed Regulatory Takings Claim Under Penn Central

We've talked in the past about just how hard it is to state a regulatory takings claim under the Supreme Court's decision in Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S. 104. I'd go through the test and how...more

Jury Sides With Property Owner in Solano County Eminent Domain Trial

According to an article in the Daily Republic, Jury: County owes $1.24M in eminent domain dispute, Solano County and a local land owner recently completed an eminent domain trial, and the jury sided with the owner. The case,...more

Follow Up on IRWA/Appraisal Institute "2012 Eminent Domain Year in Review" Presentation

For those of you who attended the joint meeting today between Chapter 1 of the International Right of Way Association and the Appraisal Institute, we promised to post a cheat sheet that reminds you about the cases associated...more

Recent Developments In Utah Condemnation Law (2012)

In This Issue: - Utah Department of Transportation v. FPA West Point, et al., 2012 UT 79 (Utah Nov. 20, 2012) - Utah Department of Transportation v. Admiral Beverage Corporation, et al., 275 P.3d 208 (Utah...more

Valuation Disputes Centering on Severance Damages and Highest & Best Use

Below are some updates on California projects have turned to eminent domain to complete right-of-way acquisition. They involve issues that are somewhat typical in condemnation proceedings: disputes over severance damages and...more

Ninth Circuit Upholds Denial of Compensation for Access Impairment

Earlier this week, in an unpublished decision (pdf), the Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of compensation for construction that altered a point of access to an existing business. (Wardany v. City of San Jacinto (9th Cir....more

California High-Speed Rail - What You Need To Know

Project Overview - The California High-Speed Rail Authority (“HSR”) plans to build an 800-mile high-speed rail system stretching from San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim and eventually to Sacramento and San Diego. The...more

California Supreme Court Rules Unions May Picket On Private Property

Ralphs Grocery Company v. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 8, S185544 (December 27, 2012): The California Supreme Court recently held that although a supermarket’s privately owned entrance area is not a public...more

Big Year For Published Eminent Domain Decisions

Originally Published in Daily Journal, January 15, 2013. As we look back on 2012, federal funds continued to make their way to local projects and shovels continued to break ground for infrastructure projects. This led to...more

California High Court Issues Important Ruling on Labor Speech Rights of Unions on Private Property

The California Supreme Court recently issued its decision in Ralphs Grocery Company v. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 8. Although the ruling resolved a long-standing dispute between a supermarket owner and the...more

Unions May Now Picket On Private Property In California

In a blow to retail businesses in California, the California Supreme Court has held that labor unions have the right to picket in front of privately owned store entrances. In Ralphs Grocery Company v. United Food and...more

Eminent Domain Opinions Focus On 'Just Compensation'

Originally Published in Daily Journal, January 4, 2013 It has been quite a busy year for takings cases, and the state Court of Appeal provided one last published eminent domain opinion just before 2012 came to a close....more

Repeated Seasonal Flooding Of Forest Land Authorized By Government May Qualify As A Taking of Property

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorized repeated seasonal flooding that damaged trees on forest land owned by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. The question before the United States Supreme Court was “whether a...more

Winery Which Has Plans For Pricy Premium Wine, But Has Not Yet Turned a Profit, Has No Compensable “Goodwill” When Land and Vines...

A winery which planned to increase sales revenues by developing a flagship estate cabernet wine using grapes grown on its own vineyard land, but has never been profitable in the past, does not have a claim for compensation...more

Court Decision on Loss of Goodwill Results in Sour Grapes for Business Owners

California is one of only a few states in which a business may recover for loss of goodwill when property is taken by eminent domain, but even here there are limitations on a business' right to recover for such damages. ...more

Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District

Brief Of Amici Curiae Institute For Justice And The CATO Institute In Support Of Petitioner

Coy Koontz, a Florida land owner, was denied a permit to develop his commercial property because he would not agree to use his money and labor to improve 50 acres of government-owned land miles away from his land. Improving...more

I Saw the Sign, and It . . . Was Taken Down?

Those don't quite sound like the lyrics to the early-90's popular Ace of Base hit, "The Sign." But they likely describe the situation of many travelers on the I-10 freeway in Los Angeles thanks to a recent California Court...more

When They Make You an Offer You Can’t Refuse...

Property rights are part of the fabric of American law - They have been protected by the U.S. Constitution since adoption of the Bill of Rights. But the protection of property rights is not absolute. The Fifth Amendment...more

Virginia Supreme Court Opinion Affecting Local Government Law: September 14, 2012

On September 14, 2012, the Virginia Supreme Court issued no opinions affecting the practice of Virginia local government law. Actually, that is not true. While no opinions involved cases with local government parties,...more

Privately-Owned Utility Company Liable In Action For Inverse Condemnation

A court of appeal recently held that a privately-owned utility company may be held liable for inverse condemnation as a public entity. (Pacific Bell Telephone Company v. Southern California Edison Company (--- Cal.Rptr.3d...more

Defining the Rules for Admissibility for Speculative Future Damages

Earlier this year in City of Livermore v. Baca, the California Court of Appeal held that as long as an expert can identify damages arising from a taking or public project, those damages likely will not qualify as speculative,...more

Legal Byte: Understanding and Litigating Adhesion Contracts

Adhesion contracts are found in all areas of law. This Legal Byte gives you an insight into understanding what they are and how they are litigated. By Alan Goldberg (Appeals, civil trials and family law.)...more

Church Members Prohibited From Soliciting Donations In Front Of Grocery Store

Church members can be permanently barred from soliciting donations outside a stand-alone grocery store, under a recent court of appeal ruling (Ralphs Grocery Company v. Missionary Church of the Disciples of Christ (---...more