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
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
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
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
10/11/2023
/ Burden of Proof ,
Causation ,
Eminent Domain ,
Evidence ,
Infrastructure ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Pipelines ,
Property Damage ,
Property Owners ,
Sewer Systems ,
Water ,
Water Districts
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
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
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
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
4/18/2023
/ California ,
Construction Project ,
Damages ,
Eminent Domain ,
Infrastructure ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Liability ,
Precondemnation ,
Private Property ,
Public Projects ,
Public Works ,
Transportation Corridor
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
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
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
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
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
Throughout all of the ups and downs in 2021, there have been multiple developments on the eminent domain front, including the special occasion where the U.S. Supreme Court heard a takings case. Outside of case law, 2021 saw...more
When a property owner suffers damage as a result of the actions of a public agency or public improvement, the owner typically pursues typical tort causes of action against the agency, along with a claim for inverse...more
Sea level rise is a critical issue facing public agencies and property owners throughout the United States. In California alone, this phenomenon could impact thousands of residences and businesses, dozens of wastewater...more
In order for a property owner to successfully pursue a regulatory takings claim for inverse condemnation, the owner is typically required to pursue multiple different development options, and face multiple permit denials,...more
When a property owner commits to developing property in a certain manner, including providing a certain number of parking spaces, and the local government agency enforces the owner’s failure to comply, does the enforcement...more
We routinely get calls from owners facing impacts to their property or business as a result of construction of a public project or changes in adjacent public streets. For example, the city or county may close a road, create a...more
Since the California Supreme Court’s 2019 Oroville decision, which narrowed inverse condemnation liability for public agencies, several court decisions have followed suit. ...more
While inverse condemnation liability in California originates from the California Constitution, determining when it applies -- and under what circumstances -- is based on a lengthy morass of case law that has been described...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
Last year, the United States Supreme Court made headlines (at least in our eminent domain world) by issuing a ruling in Knick v. Township of Scott that property owners can bypass the state courts and directly file a Fifth...more
1/16/2020
/ Eminent Domain ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Just Compensation ,
Knick v Township of Scott Pennsylvania ,
Motion To Remove ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Property Owners ,
Regulatory Takings ,
SCOTUS
It is commonplace for a local government agency to require a property or business owner to secure a license or permit for a particular type of operation (such as a liquor license, medical marijuana license, etc.). If the...more
10/4/2019
/ Building Codes ,
Business Licenses ,
Cannabis Products ,
Due Process ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Just Compensation ,
License Renewals ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Municipalities ,
Notice of Non-Renewal ,
Property Owners ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Takings ,
Zoning Laws
We recently reported on the California Supreme Court’s decision in Oroville which provided a relaxed standard for public agencies facing inverse condemnation claims. Since that decision, a new unpublished Court of Appeal...more
9/19/2019
/ Appeals ,
Erosion ,
Flooding ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Municipalities ,
Property Damage ,
Property Improvements ,
Property Ownership ,
Public Entities ,
Reasonableness Factors ,
State and Local Government ,
Storm Sewers ,
Summary Judgment ,
Surface Water ,
Water Damage