Newsflash: Rockweed Not a Fish
In Rhode Island, public access advocates, as well as local and state officials, continue efforts to secure access for the public to and along the shore. My August post, “How About a Walk on the Beach,” summarized the history...more
On October 10, 2023, the Indiana Supreme Court denied a landowner’s petition to transfer filed in the matter of State of Indiana v. The Market Place at State Road 37, LLC, et al., 22A-PL-2765 (May 17, 2023), and as a result,...more
August. Dog days of summer. And also the best time to take a relaxing stroll along the beach. But where? Public beaches are often still crammed if you can find a place to park. But many of us know of a public access path to...more
The Supreme Court issued a single opinion yesterday. Wilkins v. United States concerns a property rights dispute between the federal government and two owners of land near the Bitterroot National Forest in rural Montana to...more
Last week, in The Seaview at Amagansett, Ltd. v. Town of East Hampton Justice Paul J. Baisely, Jr. found the Town of East Hampton and several of its officials in civil and criminal contempt of the Appellate Division, Second...more
If you know someone with property that borders, is adjacent to, or abuts a natural lake, pond, bay, sea, or ocean, they may have littoral property rights. What that means is they may have the right to build a pier out to the...more
This Fall, the California Coastal Commission (“Commission”) was handed down two significant victories, further cementing its authority and jurisdiction within California coastal zones. These cases demonstrate that, in certain...more
Last week, on November 7 at the American Bar Association’s annual labor and employment law conference, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) provided a glimpse into its upcoming intentions when discussing a planned...more
Citing judicial criticism, as well as the original Supreme Court decisions on the issue, the NLRB swept away years of precedent permitting union representatives to access public areas of an employer’s premises. In UPMC...more
In this episode of Verrill Voices, environmental attorneys Gordon Smith and Scott Anderson discuss how private property rights could save the world, or at least the coast of Maine, when the fate of ecologically vital rockweed...more
On October 1, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Martins Beach 1, LLC v. Surfrider Foundation (Docket No. 17-119), a high-profile property rights case involving Martin’s Beach in the County of San Mateo....more
Lawsuits against businesses alleging minor violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), often filed in bulk by a small cadre of attorneys on behalf of the same plaintiffs, are on the rise both nationally and in...more
In the Village of Bayville, New York (“Bayville”), a landowner wished to enclose and protect private property and the private roadway for access thereon (“Lot 18”) against trespassers. The landowner sought to erect crash...more
Martins Beach, near Half Moon Bay in the County of San Mateo, is the subject of protracted litigation on various fronts stemming from tech billionaire Vinod Khosla’s 2009, decision to change the public’s access to and use of...more
Responding to the alarming proliferation of lawsuits in Florida alleging that places of public accommodations create barriers to access to disabled patrons, Florida has adopted what appears to be the first law in the country...more
Help may be on the way for property owners sued for alleged violations of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). As covered in a prior post, over the last couple of years, Florida has seen a big...more
The Volcker Rule Under the Trump Administration - The so-called Volcker Rule—named after Paul Volcker, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board—was part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection...more
At the conclusion of the Mexican-American War in 1848, the United States acquired California from Mexico through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The Treaty promised to honor Spanish and Mexican land grants. While it is...more