Real Estate & Property Law

New York Court Of Appeals: Government Liable For Attorney's Fees For First Phase Of An Unsuccessful Taking

Posted on November 23, 2009
Thanks to the New York Zoning and Municipal Law Blog for pointing out last week's decision by the New York Court of Appeals in Hargett v. Town of Ticonderoga, 2009 NY Slip Op 08478 (Nov. 19, 2009). Under New York's...

Thursday's Links

Posted on November 20, 2009
Things we were reviewing today: Check out the just-launched Hawaii Civil Procedure blog. It's a welcome addition to the blogroll for Hawaii civil practitioners. My colleague Mark Murakami has set up a resource page for all things about the McDonald...

Links From ABA Condemnation Committee Conference Call (11/18/2009)

Posted on November 18, 2009
Another very interesting conference call today, focusing on the upcoming arguments in the Stop the Beach Renourishment case, the New York Court of Appeals' decision in Aspen Creek, and the New Jersey Supreme Court's decision to review Klumpp v. Borough...

Programming Note: Condemnation Committee Conference Call 11/18/2009, 2 pm EST

Posted on November 17, 2009
Just a reminder: tomorrow (Wednesday, November 18, 2009), from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time), we will be holding the next "recent developments" conference call for members of the Condemnation Law Committee (ABA Section of State & Local Government...

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Reply Brief: Must A Property Owner Seek A Change In The Law In Order To Ripen A Takings Claim?

Posted on November 17, 2009
Here's the Reply Brief filed last month by the property owner in Leone v. County of Maui, No.29696,an appeal in the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals which is considering, among other issues, the question of when a regulatory takings claim...

Final Brief In Maui Councilmember Residency Appeal: What Is "Immediate Forfeiture And Vacancy?"

Posted on November 16, 2009
Today, we filed the Reply Brief in DeJetley v. Kahoohalahala, No. 29929, the appeal now pending in the Hawaii Supreme Court regarding the Lanai member of the Maui Council who is alleged to not be a resident of Lanai as...

New Jersey Supreme Court Will Review The "Bizarre Condemnation"

Posted on November 16, 2009
According to this order dated November 19, 2009, the New Jersey Supreme Court has granted the property owners' petition (available here), and will review the unpublished decision by the Appellate Division in Klumpp v. Borough of Avalon, No. A-2963-07 (per...

Friday Eminent Domain Round-Up

Posted on November 13, 2009
Here's what we've been reading today: A Turning Point for Eminent Domain? - The NY Times "Room for Debate" forum posts the thoughts of six property law experts on the meaning of Pfizer's decision to close its research headquarters in...

Opening Brief In Kona Eminent Domain Abuse Case: Pretext, Actual Purposes, And Private Benefit

Posted on November 13, 2009
Today, my Damon Key colleagues Ken Kupchak, Mark Murakami, Matt Evans and I filed the Opening Brief in the latest phase of County of Hawaii v. C&J Coupe Family Ltd. P'ship, two condemnation cases arising out of the County of...

Beachfront Taking Case (HAWICA) Oral Argument Recording

Posted on November 12, 2009
The judiciary web site has posted the recording of the November 10, 2009 Intermediate Court of Appeals oral arguments in Maunalua Bay Beach Ohana 28 v. State of Hawaii, No. 28175 (HAWICA) here (caution, it is a massive 88 MB...

Guest Post: Carlos Kelly on What Does The Florida Supreme Court's Ruling in System Components Corp. v. Florida Department of Transportation Mean?

Posted on November 10, 2009
In July 2009, the Florida Supreme Court issued an opinion in System Components Corp. v. Florida Dep't of Transportation, No. SC08-1507, which resolved resolved a conflict in the lower Florida courts regarding the application of business damages in a condemnation...

Cross-Motions On Due Process Issue Denied In Maui Affordable Housing Exaction Case - Next Up, Jury Trial

Posted on October 01, 2009
The District Court has denied cross-motions for summary judgment on the due process claims in the case challenging Maui County's 40-50% affordable housing exaction, Kamaole Pointe Development LP v. County of Maui, No. 07-00447 DAE (D. Haw.). The court's order...

Amicus Brief Supporting Gov't In Beachfront Takings Case: Statute Didn't Eliminate Common Law Rights, It Enhanced Them

Posted on September 30, 2009
Brevard County, Florida, has filed an amicus brief supporting the government in the beachfront taking case, Stop the Beachfront Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep't of Environmental Protection, No. 08-11 (cert. granted. June 15, 2009). In Walton County v...

Brief In Maui Councilmember Residency Appeal: What Is "Immediate Forfeiture And Vacancy?"

Posted on September 30, 2009
Yesterday, we filed the Opening Brief on behalf of Lanai residents and voters in their appeal from the Maui circuit court's dismissal of their complaint that Council member Kahoohalahala, who purports to occupy the Lanai residency seat on the Maui...

Amicus Briefs Supporting Cert: Is Forcing A Property Owner To Allow Adverse Speech A Taking?

Posted on September 29, 2009
Four amicus briefs have been filed in Macerich Management Co. v. United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Local 568, No. 09-235 (cert. petition filed Aug. 24, 2009), urging the Supreme Court to review United Brotherhood of Carpenters and...

New Ninth Circuit Case: Mobile Home Rent Control Ordinance Takes Property

Posted on September 28, 2009
In a lengthy opinion -- it comes in two volumes -- the Ninth Circuit again takes on a mobile home rent control ordinance, this time with a better result than usual for the property owners. The court determined the ordinance...

Upcoming HAWSCT Oral Arguments: Are State Zoning Laws "Environmental" Statutes?

Posted on September 28, 2009
On Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 10:00 a.m., the Hawaii Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case considering whether Haw. Rev. Stat. § 205-1 et seq., gives rise to a private right of action. The core issue in...

Sunday Round-Up

Posted on September 27, 2009
Here's what we're reading today: From the Wall Street Journal "Of Blight and Men," a piece about settlement in the attempt to "redevelop" in Long Branch, NJ The Land Use Prof blog is back with a new cast of lawprof...

D.C. Circuit To Consider Challenge To Use Of Eminent Domain To Replace "Lowbrow" Shopping Center With "Gentrified Shopping Experience"

Posted on September 26, 2009
On October 16, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear arguments in Rumber v. District of Columbia, No. 09-7035, an appeal challenging an attempt to take property by the District of Columbia and the National...

Washington Supreme Court Enacts Blanket Rule: Condemnor Liable For Attorneys Fees Even If Condemnee Claims Alternatives

Posted on September 24, 2009
Remember that kid in grade school, the one who misbehaved behind teacher's back and then when teacher turned around, he sat back silently while you took the blame? If like me you still remember that kid, we've got a case...

New Issue Of The Urban Lawyer Posted

Posted on September 23, 2009
The Spring 2009 edition of The Urban Lawyer, the ABA Section of State & Local Government Law's peer-reviewed quarterly law review, is now available on-line. This edition focuses on fair housing testing and Fair Housing Act issues. Abstracts of the...

Final Briefs On Due Process Motions In Maui Affordable Housing Exaction Case

Posted on September 22, 2009
The property owners and the County of Maui have filed their opposition and reply briefs regarding the cross motions for summary judgment in the Maui affordable housing case now being litigated in the U.S. District Court, Kamaole Pointe Development LP...

Book Review: Little Pink House - A True Story of Defiance and Courage

Posted on September 20, 2009
Story behind court ruling resonates in isles [This review was originally published in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on September 20, 2009] You remember that line in the Stevie Wonder classic -- "For once I can say this is mine, you can't...

Amicus Brief In Kuilima/Turtle Bay Appeal: Change In "Context," But Not Project, Enough To Trigger Supplemental EIS

Posted on September 18, 2009
Environmental groups led by Earthjustice have sought leave to file an amici brief supporting the pending application for a writ of certiorari in the case involving the EIS for the Turtle Bay/Kuilima resort development, United Here! Local 5 v. City...

New Brief: Must A Property Owner Seek A Change In The Law In Order To Ripen A Takings Claim?

Posted on September 15, 2009
Today, we filed an amicus brief in Leone v. County of Maui, No. 29696, an appeal in the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals which is considering, among other issues, the question of when a regulatory takings claim is ripe for...

Upcoming Seminar: Practical Guide to Zoning and Land Use Law (9/16/2009)

Posted on September 10, 2009
On Wednesday, September 16, 2009, I'll be on the faculty of "Practical Guide to Zoning and Land Use Law," a day-long seminar in Honolulu. This is an annual program dealing with zoning approvals, constitutional limitations on land use regulations, and...

Connecticut Property Rights Ombudsman Falls To Budget Axe

Posted on September 09, 2009
We've just received word that the Office of Ombudsman for Property Rights is closed effective September 8, 2009 "[b]ecause of budgetary constraints." The office was created two years ago "to assist[] private property owners and public agencies in understanding and...

Kansas Supreme Court: Property Damaged For Public Use Requires Compensation

Posted on September 08, 2009
The constitutions and statutes of most states require just compensation to be paid whenever property is taken or damaged for public use. See, e.g., Cal. Const. art. I, § 19 ("Private property may be taken or damaged for a public...

Can Government Use Inverse Condemnation To Take Property Without Compensation?

Posted on September 07, 2009
We can't figure out this Kafkaesque decision from the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court. We really can't. In Klumpp v. Borough of Avalon, No. A-2963-07 (per curiam), the court held that the government can assert inverse condemnation...

Our Amicus Brief In The Florida Beachfront Takings Case aka The Judicial Takings Case

Posted on September 04, 2009
Today, on behalf of Owners' Counsel of America, we filed an amicus brief in Stop the Beachfront Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep't of Environmental Protection, No. 08-11 (cert. granted. June 15, 2009). In Walton County v. Stop the Beach Renourishment,...

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