Constitutional Law › Residential Real Estate › Zoning, Planning & Land Use

Florida to Government: Your Lien Doesn't Foreclose This Old Mortgage

The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that cities cannot create ordinances that subject prior recorded mortgages to their subsequently recorded county or governmental liens, because it conflicts with Florida's state statutes on...more

City of Imperial at an Impasse Over Transit Center

The City of Imperial has taken the first step in pursuing an eminent domain proceeding by adopting a resolution of necessity to acquire a vacant property for its Transit Center Project. As reported by the Imperial Valley...more

New Floodplain Ordinance Targets Oil and Gas Operations

The County Commission in Doddridge County, West Virginia is currently considering amendments to its Floodplain Ordinance as a result of a December 17, 2012 decision by the Circuit Court of Doddridge County. (Comments to the...more

Equal Protection Claims Concerning Disparate Enforcement of Environmental Laws Remain an Uphill Battle

In 2000, in its 2-page per curiam opinion in Village of Willowbrook v. Olech, the Supreme Court gave hope to developers and property owners that the equal protection clause could be used to prevent local zoning and...more

Regulatory Takings: Monks v. Rancho Palos Verdes Revisited (Again)

For those of you who have followed Nossaman's blog since the very early days, you'll recall our coverage of a significant regulatory takings case, Monks v. City of Rancho Palos Verdes. The 2008 California decision received...more

Q&A With Bilzin Sumberg's Howard Nelson

Originally Published in Law360 on March 28, 2013. Howard Nelson, chairman of the environmental practice group at Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP, has experience in environmental and land use law and zoning and...more

Appellate Notes: Week of March 18, 2013

In This Issue: - SC18921- Redding Life Care, Inc. v. Redding - SC18846- Bauer v. Bauer - SC18947- State v. Charlotte Hungerford Hospital - AC34075- Carrillo v. Goldberg - AC33764- Alarmax...more

Hoku Lele, LLC v. City and County of Honolulu

Opinion of the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals

The Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals, in a unanimous panel opinion authored by Judge Foley, held that a "zoning verification" by the Director of the City and County's Department of Planning and Permitting is not a "action...more

DISPUTE RESOLUTION: Business Litigation Important Texas Water Rights Case Could Affect Oil & Gas Activities as Well by Brannon...

The Texas Supreme Court recently issued an important decision on a groundwater rights question that had gone unanswered for more than a century. In Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day, the Court held that Texas property owners...more

Nelson v. City of Rochester

Motion For Leave To File And Brief Of Amici Curiae CATO Institute, Reason Foundation, Minnesota Free Market Institute, And...

A person’s home is his castle and thus affords certain protections and immunities — including the right to exclude unwanted visitors — that apply whether you own or rent. Unfortunately, ordinances authorizing general...more

U.S. Supreme Court Oral Arguments Set In Koontz v St John's River Water Management District for January 15, 2013

One month from now, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Case No. 11-1447, styled Coy A. Koontz, Jr., Petitioner v. St. Johns River Water Management District, Respondent (read the docket here). We've...more

High Court Weighs In on Surface Owners’ Appeal Rights

In Martin v. Hamblet, decided November 21, 2012, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals determined that a surface owner may not appeal issuance of a well work permit by the Department of Environmental Protection for a...more

Koontz v. St. John's River Water Management District

Brief Amicus Curiae of Owners' Counsel of America in Support of the Petitioner

Today, on behalf Owners' Counsel of America, we filed this amicus brief in Koontz v. St Johns River Water Mgmt Dist., No. 11-1447 (cert. granted Oct. 5, 2012). That's the case asking whether the "essential nexus" and "rough...more

U.S. Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Koontz IV, Reviewing Decision of Florida Supreme Court

We've delved into the background of the Koontz litigation here in past posts; suffice to say that it's a legal controversy between landowner Coy Koontz and his local water management district that has gone on for years (18...more

Legal Byte: “Boundary by Agreement:” a fence alone is not enough

California landowners can agree on a boundary between their properties. However, they have to conform to specific requirements by California law....more

Annual City Apartment Inspections And Inspection Fees Are Upheld

Residential landlords can be required to submit their rental properties for annual city inspections, and can be required to pay a city inspection fee, under a recent court of appeal ruling. (Griffith v. City of Santa Cruz...more

Massachusetts Federal Court Upholds Local Foreclosure Laws

On July 3, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts dismissed several banks’ challenge to a Massachusetts city’s foreclosure-related ordinances. Easthampton Savings Bank v. City of Springfield, No. 11-30280,...more

Virginia Supreme Court Opinions Affecting Local Government Law: June 7, 2012

Today, the Virginia Supreme Court issued several opinions affecting the practice of Virginia local government law. The cases involve (1) an inverse condemnation claim against VDOT for flooding, (2) another application of...more

Are Florida Right of Way Corridor Preservation Ordinances Unconstitutional? Land Owner Wins First Round in Federal Fight

In Florida land development, how traffic moves through an area is important - and years in advance of any roadway being constructed, there are land planners who work hard to determine where roads (highways, streets, etc.) are...more

In a Landmark Decision, the Texas Supreme Court Recognizes Vested Property Interest in Groundwater "In Place"

On February 24, 2012, the Texas Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day, one of the most significant water law cases in years. In a unanimous decision, the Court ruled that,...more

PA Tax Notes

Interest on Real Estate Tax Overpayments The Commonwealth Court has held that the provisions of the Local Taxpayer Bill of Rights apply to refunds of real estate taxes, requiring that interest be calculated from the...more

Proposed Constitutional Amendment on Eminent Domain: Cons and Pros

The proposed eminent domain constitutional amendment is pending at the 2012 Virginia General Assembly.  See 2012′s bills on the amendment, HJ 3 and SJ 3.  If these...more

Magner v. Gallagher

Brief Amicus Curiae Of Pacific Legal Foundation, Center For Equal Opportunity, Competitive Enterprise Institute, And The CATO...

The federal Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful "[t]o refuse to sell or rent after the making of a bona fide offer ... or otherwise make unavailable or deny, a dwelling to any person because of race, color, religion, sex,...more

Sauce For the Goose? Home Builders Lose a Standing Battle

Developers have cheered in recent years as the Supreme Court has tightened its standing rules. In a decision issued on Friday in National Association of Home Builders v. EPA, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia...more

Harmon v. Kimmel

Brief Amicus Curiae Of Pacific Legal Foundation, CATO Institute, Et Al., In Support Of Petitioners James D. Harmon, Jr., And...

Rent control is literally a textbook example of bad economic policy. Economics textbooks often use it as an example of how price ceilings create shortages, poor quality goods, and under-the-table dealings. A 1992 survey...more