Welcome to 'Just Compensation'
Eminent Domain: First Principles, Kelo, and In Service of Infrastructure Buildout
#WorkforceWednesday: SCOTUS in Review, Biden Acts to Limit Non-Competes, NY HERO Act Model Safety Plans - Employment Law This Week®
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 140: Listen and Learn -- Regulatory Takings
#WorkforceWednesday: Mandatory Vaccination, Tipped Worker Rule, and SCOTUS Rules Against Organized Labor - Employment Law This Week®
Update - February 2024: We have been following the progress of House Bill (“HB”) 64 in Ohio’s 135th General Assembly (formerly HB 698 in the 134th General Assembly) (the “Bill”), which proposes numerous changes to Ohio’s...more
The payment of “just compensation” for the taking of private property includes more than merely writing a check to the property owner after a jury determines the current fair market value of the taking. A property owner is...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 property owners, the process of eminent domain — the legal proceeding through which the government can acquire private property for a public purpose — can be a long and intimidating journey. Once an owner becomes aware...more
You received a Notice of Intent from the government or private company seeking to take your property. You probably have a lot of questions. Read on for answers to common questions and tips on how to protect your rights during...more
A recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concerned a nightmare scenario for any property owner. The plaintiffs sought to rebuild their beachfront house after it was destroyed. Originally...more
In Knick v. Township of Scott, 139 S.Ct. 2162 (2019), the Supreme Court reversed over three decades of precedent when it eliminated the requirement that a plaintiff exhaust state court remedies before pursuing a takings...more
At the end of its recent term, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a new decision on the law of takings. The case, Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, was a labor relations dispute disguised as a takings case, but its resolution...more
While the details of the WTO patent waiver have not been determined (or more properly negotiated), it is important to consider the structure of the international trade regime in which the waiver will operate and the...more
In WBI Energy Transmission, Inc. v. Easement and Right-of-Way Across, WBI Energy Transmission’s "Motion in Limine to Exclude Evidence or Testimony of Other Easement Transactions” was denied in a ruling filed April 1, 2021....more
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
We get asked this question often. And, in true lawyer fashion, the answer is “maybe.” Before you roll your eyes (which you may have already done), hear me out. The answer is “maybe” because it depends on what the lease says...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
As you may recall, it wasn’t too long after the Governor issued his executive order mandating the closure of certain businesses in California that the first takings lawsuit was filed. (See our coverage of Gondola Adventures,...more
In my last post, “Real Estate Alphabet Soup: I is for Improvements” I continued my primer on the “alphabet soup” of real estate. This post continues to stir the “alphabet soup” with the letter “J.” J is for “just...more
On June 21, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the landmark case of Knick v. Twp. of Scott, Pennsylvania, 139 S.Ct. 2162 (2019), holding that a property owner can bring an action in federal court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to...more
Most property owners understand that if the government wants to take their property in an eminent domain proceeding, it is constitutionally required to provide just compensation. But most property owners are surprised to...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued four decisions this morning: North Carolina Dept. of Revenue v. Kimberley Rice Kaestner 1992 Family Trust, No. 18-457: North Carolina law imposes a tax on any trust income...more
Public infrastructure projects are on the rise, from new transit systems to comprehensive highway renovations and everything in between. Behind the scenes, some governmental body is fast at work acquiring private land along...more
For landowners, learning that the government intends to take their property is always a rude awakening. After receiving notice that the government seeks to acquire a piece of land, the landowner sets off on a difficult...more
Two recent Appellate Division decisions have added significantly to the body of New Jersey eminent domain jurisprudence. Originally published in New Jersey Law Journal - 2019....more
Takings cases involving transportation agencies such as Caltrans typically involve physical occupations of land under the law of eminent domain. In a twist on such physical occupation, in a case originally filed on December...more
Of the many things that landlords and tenants are thinking about when entering into a new lease, the possibility that the property might be subjected to eminent domain proceedings is usually very low on the list. But...more