Come & Take It: The Eminent Domain Podcast (Episode #13), Featuring Winstead Shareholder Tom Forestier
PLI's Pursuing Justice: The Pro Bono Files - Pro Bono and Reparations: The Bruce’s Beach Story
Eminent Domain: First Principles, Kelo, and In Service of Infrastructure Buildout
On-Demand Webinar | Eminent Domain in 2020: A Year in Review
Regulatory Takings and Executive Power to Seize Property
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently announced two important rules in two eminent domain opinions. Both cases involved pipeline access easements that the condemnor properly took under the Natural Gas Act....more
Condemning agencies contemplating the use of eminent domain at times hire third-party acquisition agents to purchase properties ahead of an incoming infrastructure project without the provision of written good faith offers....more
In State of Arizona v. Foothills Reserve Master Owners Association, Inc., the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that severance damages are available to landowners when their appurtenant easements are condemned, even if their...more
In a February 7, 2025 decision in Simon v. Sunoco Pipeline LP, No. 2015-3302 (Wash. Cty. February 7, 2025), the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County, Pennsylvania concluded that Sunoco Pipeline LP and Sunoco Logistics...more
The International Transmission Line (“ITC”) and its subsidiary, the Michigan Electric Transmission Company, LLC (“METC”), are currently seeking easements to install new transmission lines as part of their Long-Range...more
Tune in to the latest episode of "Come and Take It: The Eminent Domain Podcast." Host Bobby Debelak sits down with Winstead Shareholder Thomas J. Forestier, a leading infrastructure and eminent domain attorney with 37+ years...more
Despite California’s record high levels of precipitation in 2023, water scarcity remains a pressing issue. Governments have turned to using the power of eminent domain to acquire investor-owned utilities in an effort to...more
The Right of Way Consultant’s Council Membership Meeting took place in Downtown Las Vegas on November 3, 2023. Having previously presented an eminent domain topic at the 2022 Membership Meeting, Steven Silva from Nossaman’s...more
This past week I had the opportunity to attend the International Right of Way Association’s (IRWA) Region 1 Fall Forum and Symposium in San Diego, California. On Friday, Brad Kuhn and I presented an update on recent federal...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
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
Our office routinely handles utility takings, which often involve partial takings of easements for transmission lines or pipelines. As governments attempt to improve the electrical grid to support the transportation of wind...more
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)—signed into law in 2021—authorizes $1.2 trillion in spending for public works projects, such as highway widenings. Millions of acres of private property will likely be needed...more
In eminent domain cases, it is uncommon that right to take challenges are upheld, and when they are, it is typically a procedural deficiency that can be cured. It is even more unusual where a right to take challenge is...more
With billions in Federal infrastructure improvement funding set to pour into Pennsylvania in coming years, privately owned land across the state will be impacted by thousands of “public purpose” projects. In terms of...more
After much debate, President Joe Biden signed into law the $1.2 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act last November. The Act provides for $550 billion in new federal spending in infrastructure. The...more
In a ruling that benefits public agencies, a state appellate court yesterday overturned a finding of precondemnation liability against the California Department of Transportation. The court held that a causal relationship...more