Real Estate & Property Law

Oral Argument Preview, Part II: Hawaii Supreme Court Considers Whether A Change In "Context," But Not The Project, Triggers A Supplemental EIS

Posted on December 17, 2009
This is Part II of our preview of the oral arguments in Unite Here! Local 5 v. City and County of Honolulu, the case in which the Intermediate Court of Appeals held that unless the project changes, a supplemental EIS...

Live Blog Of Turtle Bay/Kuilima EIS Case: Is A Change In "Context," But Not The Project, Enough To Trigger Supplemental EIS?

Posted on December 17, 2009
Kuilima EIS Oral Arguments at Hawaii Supreme Court This is the live blog of the Hawaii Supreme Court oral arguments in Unite Here! Local 5 v. City and County of Honolulu, the case in which the Intermediate Court...

NY Times Editorial On Eminent Domain: Columbia Case "Completely Out Of Step With Eminent Domain Law" And Is "Weakly Reasoned." Really?

Posted on December 16, 2009
In the editorial "Eminent Domain in New York," (Dec. 13, 2009), the New York Times opines about the two recent eminent domain decisions from the New York state appellate courts: A New York State appellate court has misguidedly put a...

Oral Argument Preview, Part I: Hawaii Supreme Court Considers Whether A Change In "Context," But Not The Project, Triggers A Supplemental EIS

Posted on December 16, 2009
On Thursday, December 17, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. Hawaii time, the Hawaii Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Unite Here! Local 5 v. City and County of Honolulu. Note: Justice Recktenwald is recused and Circuit Judge Derrick Chan will...

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Behind The Music: Berman v. Parker

Posted on December 16, 2009
For better or worse, the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 decision in Berman v. Parker, 348 U.S. 26 (1954) marks the legal genesis of modern public use jurisprudence. The Court's opinion in the case is pretty thin on facts, however, and...

Live Blog Of Turtle Bay/Kuilima EIS Case: Is A Change In "Context," But Not The Project, Enough To Trigger Supplemental EIS?

Posted on December 14, 2009
Tune in on Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. HST for my colleague Mark Murakami's live blog of the Hawaii Supreme Court oral arguments in Unite Here! Local 5 v. City and County of Honolulu, the case in which...

Landmarked For Being Loosely Linked To Famous Architect?

Posted on December 11, 2009
I was reading this article in the San Francisco Chronicle about a dispute over whether a "concrete, flat-roofed Berkeley building [scroll down to the "Mobilized Women of Berkeley" listing] loosely linked to [architect] Bernard Maybeck" could be landmarked...

University's Taking For "Athletic Village" Is For Public Use

Posted on December 10, 2009
In State ex rel. Bd. of Regents v. McCloskey Brothers, No. 105228 (Dec. 8, 2009), the Oklahoma Supreme Court held that Oklahoma State University can take property for creation of an "athletic village." Here's the entirety of the public use...

Second Circuit: To Demolish Dangerous Property Without Notice, Don't Delay

Posted on December 10, 2009
In WWBITV, Inc. v. Village of Rouses Point, No. 08-5112 (Dec. 9, 2009), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a property owner whose building was demolished the day after it was badly damaged in a...

Maine Supreme Court: No Notice To Claims Commission Under New Law

Posted on December 10, 2009
Until recently, a Maine property owner who sought review of a Claims Commission award of compensation needed to provide notice to the Commission of the appeal to Superior Court. Mr. Morrill believed a Commission award was insufficient and appealed, but...

Harvard Law Review On The "Ceded Lands" Case

Posted on December 09, 2009
In its annual summary of the U.S. Supreme Court term, the Harvard Law Review addresses the Court's most important decisions, and this year includes the "ceded lands" case, Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs, 129 S. Ct. 1463 (2009). [Disclosure:...

To Kill An Egg-Sucking Dog

Posted on December 07, 2009
We promised in our earlier post on Mann v. Calumet City, No. 09-1681 (Dec. 7, 2009) that we were going to read the egg-sucking dog case, Hull v. Scruggs, 2 So.2d 543 (Miss. 1941). We have, and present it below...

Land Use Law Day At The Seventh Circuit: "Property Owner Can Kill A Trespassing Dog That Has Irresistible Urge To Suck Eggs"

Posted on December 07, 2009
Here's an opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit that's worth reading, if only to see why we like reading Judge Posner's writings: It uses contractions (Judge Kozinski would approve). Slip op. at 11 ("The rule...

Mark Your Calendars: ALI-ABA Program "The Aftermath of Atlantic Yards: Eminent Domain in New York"

Posted on December 07, 2009
On December 16, 2009, from 2 - 3 pm EST, ALI-ABA is presenting "The Aftermath of Atlantic Yards: Eminent Domain in New York," a 1 hour program about the decision of the New York Court of Appeals in Goldstein v....

The Fifth Amendment's Givings Clause?

Posted on December 05, 2009
Yesterday's Tom Toles web only sketch from the Washington Post certainly captures one of the arguments made by Florida in Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep't of Environmental Protection, No. 08-11 (cert. granted. June 15, 2009, the appeal...

It Was Thirty Years Ago Today...

Posted on December 04, 2009
No, not that Sgt Pepper taught the band to play (that was 20 years ago). On Tuesday, December 4, 1979, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Kaiser Aetna v. United States, 444 U.S. 164 (1979). My Damon...

Friday Round Up: Dueling NY Eminent Domain Decisions, Rebuilding Beaches

Posted on December 04, 2009
The end of a full week in the eminent domain and takings front. The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Florida judicial takings beach case (while the New Jersey and Hawaii courts are considering similar issues), and a...

New York Court Finds "True Beneficiary" Of Manhattanville Taking Is Columbia U., Not Public

Posted on December 03, 2009
Read this opinion: Kaur v. New York State Urban Dev. Corp., 2009 NY Slip Op 08976 (Dec. 3, 2009). The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division (First Department) struck down the attempted taking of land north of Columbia University in...

Stop The Beach Renourishment (Judicial Takings Case) Post-Oral Argument Round Up

Posted on December 03, 2009
Here's a collection of some of the commentary about yesterday's oral arguments in Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep't of Environmental Protection, No. 08-11 (cert. granted. June 15, 2009). The transcript is available here. Our commentary was broken...

SCOTUS Oral Arguments In The Judicial Takings Case: Are "Background Principles" Of Property Law Completely Up To State Judges? (Part III)

Posted on December 02, 2009
We're continuing our summary of today's oral arguments in Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep't of Environmental Protection, No. 08-11 (cert. granted. June 15, 2009). The transcript is available here. The property owners' argument summary is posted here,...

SCOTUS Oral Arguments In The Judicial Takings Case: Are "Background Principles" Of Property Law Completely Up To State Judges? (Part II)

Posted on December 02, 2009
We're continuing our summary of the oral arguments in Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep't of Environmental Protection, No. 08-11 (cert. granted. June 15, 2009), the case in which the Court is considering the theory of "judicial takings"...

SCOTUS Oral Arguments In The Judicial Takings Case: Are "Background Principles" Of Property Law Completely Up To State Judges? (Part I)

Posted on December 02, 2009
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep't of Environmental Protection, No. 08-11 (cert. granted. June 15, 2009), the case in which the Court is considering the theory of "judicial takings"...

Transcript Of SCOTUS Oral Arguments In The Judicial Takings Case

Posted on December 02, 2009
Posted here. More to follow after reviewing.

John Stossel On Eminent Domain

Posted on December 02, 2009
Long, but worth watching. Features some well known players in the eminent domain scene.

Oral Arguments In Judicial Takings Case: Are State Courts Bound By The Takings Clause?

Posted on December 01, 2009
On Wednesday, December 2, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the biggest takings case of the year, Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep't of Environmental Protection, No. 08-11 (cert. granted. June 15, 2009). This...

Cato Institute Podcast On Stop The Beach Renourishment (Judicial Takings) Case

Posted on December 01, 2009
The Cato Institute's Ilya Shapiro discusses Stop the Beachfront Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep't of Environmental Protection, No. 08-11 (cert. granted. June 15, 2009), the case being argued in the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday. We will post a preview...

WSJ Video Commentary On Public Use, Blight, And Atlantic Yards

Posted on November 30, 2009

Unfrozen Caveman Judges "Frightened And Confused" By Blight

Posted on November 29, 2009
Remember Phil Hartman's classic Saturday Night Live routine, "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer" -- One hundred thousand years ago, a caveman was out hunting on the frozen wastes when he slipped and fell into a crevasse. In 1988, he was discovered by...

Media And Commentary Links On NYCA's Atlantic Yards Decision

Posted on November 24, 2009
While we're formulating our thoughts on the NY Court of Appeals' decision in Goldstein v. New York State Urban Development Corp., No. 178 (Nov. 24, 2009), here are media reports and others' thoughts on the case: The blog at the...

New York Court Of Appeals: Agency Can Blight The Baby With The Bathwater With No Judicial Oversight

Posted on November 24, 2009
The New York Court of Appeals issued its opinion in the appeal regarding the Atlantic Yards redevelopment project, Goldstein v. New York State Urban Development Corp., No. 178 (Nov. 24, 2009). This case was a challenge to the taking under...

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