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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

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

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

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

SCOTUS’ Take On Takings

The Supreme Court of the United States rarely hears anything related to eminent domain or takings cases; the Kelodecision in 2005 was the latest “big” case for our industry, although the 2019 Knick decision also made...more

SCOTUS Takings Decision a Huge Victory for Property Owners: California Regulation Requiring Access Is a Taking

On June 23rd, the United States Supreme Court held that a California regulation allowing labor organizations to intermittently access agricultural employers’ property was an unconstitutional taking. The Court reversed the...more

Can a Public Agency Condemn Property to Prevent a Proposed Private Use?

In the City of Fresno, the Tower Theatre is a bohemian landmark, opened in 1929 as a 20th Century Fox Movie House. This year, it became public that Adventure Church was buying the theatre, which has caused tensions to rise in...more

What Happens When Railroad Right-of-Way is Abandoned and Turned into a Public Trail System?

Throughout the United States, old railroad corridors are being abandoned and converted into other uses, such as hiking, biking or other trail purposes. This converted use makes sense, as it is difficult to otherwise compile a...more

Another Appraisal Opinion Bites the Dust

In California eminent domain cases, appraisers typically have relatively wide latitude in determining fair market value for the property to be acquired. However, there are certain rules they must follow, and when an appraiser...more

Sea Level Rise Legislation – What’s On The Horizon?

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

“Futility Exception” Satisfies the Ripeness Requirement for Inverse Condemnation Claims

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

Government’s Forced Sale of Property Does Not Constitute a Taking

When the government requires a property owner to give up private property, the takings clause normally comes into play and the government is required to exercise its power of eminent domain. But is that always the case?...more

Government’s Enforcement of Development Plan Conditions is Not a Taking

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

There Can Be No Taking for Impairment of Access If the Property Does Not Abut a Public Road

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

Court Decision Serves as Important Reminder on Crafting Lease Condemnation Provisions

When entering into a lease agreement, parties rarely contemplate that the property may be subject to a future eminent domain proceeding. As a result, many times the condemnation provision in the lease is given little...more

When Can The Government Physically Occupy Property Without Facing Inverse Condemnation Liability?

When the government physically takes or occupies property without first going through the rigorous procedural requirements under California eminent domain law, usually it’s a clear-cut case of inverse condemnation liability. ...more

Should Property Owners Pursue Takings Claims in State or Federal Court?

When state and local governments impose unreasonable conditions or exactions on private property, owners pursuing a regulatory takings claim often face a maze of procedural obstacles just to have their case heard. ...more

Another Inverse Condemnation Temporary Damages Claim Fails to Get Off the Ground

As we’ve seen all too many times in California, when local municipalities delay development approvals — even improperly — courts are reluctant to find liability under an inverse condemnation cause of action and award...more

When Proposed Public and Private Projects Collide

Infrastructure projects take years to develop: the environmental review, funding, design, procurement, and construction of a public project is time consuming in any state, but even more so in California given the strict...more

When Condemnation Actions Go Wrong

In the vast majority of cases, when a public agency exercises eminent domain, the only issue in dispute is the amount of just compensation the agency must pay for the property being acquired. Even in situations where a...more

Government’s Termination of Lease Pursuant to its Terms is Not a “Taking”

Public agencies own significant amounts of property throughout California and the United States. Sometimes, those properties are not being put to a public use, and the government acts as a landlord, leasing out property to...more

Court Rejects Takings Claim Based on Temporary Prohibition of Mining

As we’ve reported in the past, temporary takings are compensable in California.  But such claims are not easy to prove, particularly when you’re dealing with the federal government imposing temporary regulations preventing...more

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