On September 12, the Washington Supreme Court affirmed a Court of Appeals decision that declared the City of Sammamish––and all other municipalities enumerated under Revised Code of Washington 8.12.030––does not lose its...more
Water Agencies Beware Before Proceeding with Forced Municipalization - California’s state water system serves roughly 40 million people and irrigates nearly 10 million acres of farmland. The 2023 water year was ranked as...more
The Arkansas Court of Appeals in a February 20th opinion addressed issues arising out of the construction of a wastewater plant (“Plant”) by the City of Calion, Arkansas, (“City”) on Calion Lake (“Lake”). See James Randall...more
The New Jersey Appellate Division reversed a decision allowing the Borough of Glassboro to condemn property just because it was part of a “Redevelopment Area” and has been since 2000. In Borough of Glassboro v. Grossman....more
The PA Commonwealth Court recently held that a claim of adverse possession could be brought against a municipality when the municipality’s only use of the property during the statutory period was to hold the property for...more
Fire Island is a 32-mile long, slender barrier sand bar island located between the Atlantic Ocean and the South Shore of Long Island. The island, which varies in width from as little as about 550 feet to not more than about...more
In January, I spoke at a conference in Austin about efforts by municipalities to condemn privately-held utility companies. At the time, I figured it would be a one-off presentation on a pretty niche issue, even for eminent...more
New legislation has been enacted overruling the Waisanen v. Superior Township case that allowed adverse possession claims against municipal property owners. In this blog post, I described the decision in Waisanen v....more
For the last several years, municipalities have been slow to engage in new projects that require the use of eminent domain due to budgetary restrictions. However, with the upturn in the economy that is resulting in new...more
Today, the N.C. Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a takings case filed by a local government. The case is Town of Matthews v. Wright, No. COA14-943 (April 21, 2015)....more
The City of Sacramento took another step forward on the plan for a new multi-million dollar arena for the Sacramento Kings. Last Tuesday, in a 7-2 vote, the city council passed a resolution of necessity approving the use of...more
On September 12, the City of Richmond caught a small reprieve with respect to its plan to condemn underwater mortgages. As reported by Reuters, the federal district court ruled that the lawsuit filed by lenders Wells Fargo,...more
Despite three major banks filing federal lawsuits against the City of Richmond last month related to its plan to condemn underwater mortgages, the City continues to press on. On Tuesday, the City voted 4-3 to continue its...more