Real Estate & Property Law

More On McMansions

Posted on May 28, 2009
Our thanks to Dwight Merriam for responding to yesterday's post on "Maui Mansionism" and noting the more common terms "McMansion," "starter palace," and (my favorite) "garage Mahal." He's also kindly forwarded two powerpoint presentations on regulation of big and tall...

Mansionism Discouraged On Maui ..."Mansionism?"

Posted on May 27, 2009
I learned a new -ism word today thanks to an article in the Maui News forwarded by my Damon Key colleague Mark Murakami. Currently, Maui's "Hotel" zoning allows the property owner to build an apartment or a single-family residence as...

SCOTUS Nominee Sotomayor On Takings Issues

Posted on May 26, 2009
Second Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor, the nominee to fill Justice David Souter's seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, has served as either a federal District or Circuit Judge for 18 years during which she's either authored or sat on panels...

HAWSCT: Property Owners Entitled To Attorneys Fees & Costs In Failed Taking, Even If Gov't Prevails In Intermediate Steps

Posted on May 23, 2009
Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 101-27, when a condemnation action is "abandoned or discontinued before reaching a final judgment, or if, for any cause, the property concerned is not finally taken for public use," the condemnor is liable for: all...

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It Is Good To Be The King: Councilmembers Personally Immune From Charges Of Retaliatory Eminent Domain Abuse

Posted on May 21, 2009
You may remember Mel Brooks' History of the World: Part I, where Brooks, as King Louis XIV, turns to the camera and exclaims "it's good to be the King!" each time he takes advantage of one of his subjects. Well,...

Minn Court Of Appeals: Redevelopment Agency Exceeded Delegation Of Eminent Domain Authority

Posted on May 20, 2009
In Eagan Economic Development Authority v. U-Haul Company of Minnesota, No. A08-0767 (May 19, 2009), the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that when a delegation of eminent domain power from a municipality requires a redevelopment agency to enter into a...

Government Must Pay 100% Of Owner's Defense Fees In Illegal Condemnation

Posted on May 18, 2009
Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 101-27, when a condemnation action is "abandoned or discontinued before reaching a final judgment, or if, for any cause, the property concerned is not finally taken for public use," the condemnor is liable for: all...

Monday Eminent Domain Round-Up

Posted on May 18, 2009
Here's what we're reading today: Government to condemn land for Flight 93 memorial - the latest controversy in the land in Somerset, Pennsylvania (photo at left) where United 93 impacted on September 11, 2001. Flight 93 panel member resigns over...

Materials And Links From Today's Water Law Seminar

Posted on May 14, 2009
To those who attended today's seminar "Integrating Water Law and Land Use Planning," thank you. The materials from my session on "Water Rights, Property Rights and the Law of Settled Expectations" are below. Kaiser Aetna v. United States, 444 U.S....

Damages Flowing From A Failed Condemnation: Motion For Reconsideration

Posted on May 11, 2009
On behalf of the property owner, we've filed a Motion for Reconsideration (filed May 1, 2009) of the Hawaii Supreme Court's latest opinion in which the court held that a condemnee who appeals the denial of damages for a failed...

Upcoming Water Law Seminar - Integrating Water Law and Land Use Planning

Posted on May 11, 2009
There's still time to register for the upcoming seminar "Integrating Water Law and Land Use Planning," being held in Honolulu at the Ala Moana Hotel on Thursday, May 14, 2009 from 9am - 4:30pm. I'll be leading the session on...

Monday Eminent Domain Round-Up

Posted on May 04, 2009
Here's what we've been reading today: There Goes the Neighborhood: A Fight Over Defining "Blight" - the Wall Street Journal focuses on the blight issue, which in most jurisdictions is a case of the tail wagging the dog: if the...

WA Court Of Appeals: Delegations Of Eminent Domain Power To Municipalities Strictly Construed

Posted on April 30, 2009
A state law providing that airport boards may exercise the powers of the municipalities which appoint them, but which also requires a condemnation action by an airport board "be instituted in the names of the municipalities jointly," prohibits an airport...

The Nerve Of Those Californians, Vindicating Federal Constitutional Rights In Texas Federal Courts!

Posted on April 28, 2009
As we noted in this post, the recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decision in Severance v. Patterson, No. 07-20409 (Apr. 23, 2009) is garnering a lot of commentary for the dissenting judge's opening ad hominem and...

Op-Ed: Money Is Property - Monetary Exactions And Nollan/Dolan

Posted on April 28, 2009
The Washington Examiner has published an op-ed about McClung v. City of Sumner, 548 F.3d 1219 (9th Cir. 2008), petition for cert. filed May 2, 2009, "When the Government Takes Your Money, It Takes Your Property," by Cato Institute's Ilya...

Fifth Circuit: Fourth Amendment Seizure Of Beachfront Land Claim Not Subject To Williamson County Ripeness

Posted on April 27, 2009
A very interesting decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Severance v. Patterson, No. 07-20409 (Apr. 23, 2009). While much of the commentary about the case (see, e.g., here, here, and here) has focused on...

West Hawaii Today On Latest HAWSCT Opinion In Eminent Domain Abuse Cases

Posted on April 23, 2009
The Big Island's West Hawaii Today reports "Both sides claim win in latest ruling" about the Hawaii Supreme Court's recent opinion in the cases involving the County of Hawaii's attempt to take the property of a Kona family to meet...

HAWSCT: Property Owners Entitled To Attorneys Fees & Costs On Appeal

Posted on April 22, 2009
In the latest reported decision arising out of the County of Hawaii's attempt to take property, the Hawaii Supreme Court held that a condemnee who appeals the denial of damages for a failed taking is entitled to damages it sustains...

Guest Post: Of Shoes and Ships, Eggs and Farms; Or, Penn Central Through the Looking Glass

Posted on April 21, 2009
Our friend Bill Wade offers his thoughts on the recent (and latest) Rose Acre decision by the Federal Circuit, a case we summarized here. __________________________________ Of shoes and ships, eggs and farms; Or, Penn Central through the Looking Glass by...

Weekend Round-Up

Posted on April 20, 2009
Items of note from around the web: Professor Gideon Kanner's thoughts on recent New York Times report on Susette Kelo, "At Long Last, The New York Times Reveals a Secret" In "Penny Wise And Pound Foolish," the Connecticut Law Tribune...

Minn Court Of Appeals: No Taking Of Church Property For Sidewalk Without Consent

Posted on April 20, 2009
In City of Jordan v. Church of St. John the Baptist of Jordan, No. CV-07-24976 (Apr. 14, 2009), the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that a state law requiring the consent of a church's governing board before its land can...

New York Times Profiles Kelo, The "Eminent Domain Crusader"

Posted on April 18, 2009
In "Spotlight Finds Eminent Domain Crusader," the New York Times profiles Susette Kelo, the name behind the infamous eminent domain decision Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005), and the subject of a recent book about the...

Coming Soon To A City Near You: "We Want To Emphasize That This Is In People's Interest" - Berkeley To Mandate $34k+ Draconian Energy Efficiency

Posted on April 18, 2009
University Avenue in Berkeley, California -- the main entry to the city hosting the flagship campus of the University of California system -- is not exactly a grand introduction: the street is rutted with potholes (a trip west of San...

Little Pink House Event Report

Posted on April 15, 2009
I was fortunate enough yesterday to attend an event with Jeff Benedict, who spoke about his recently-published book Little Pink House - A True Story of Defiance and Courage (Grand Central Publishing 2009) (available from Amazon here). Little Pink House...

Monday Round-Up

Posted on April 13, 2009
Several diverse items, for your consideration: Columnist George Will opines about the Empress Casino Joliet case -- the one where the Illinois Supreme Court held that a regulation imposing a 3% "surcharge" on Illinois casinos with gross receipts over $200...

Rail Taking Valuations In A Flat To Declining Market

Posted on April 12, 2009
Sean Hao at the the Honolulu Advertiser reports "Land prices for Hawaii rail route jump $100 million since 2006," with the lede: "Honolulu real estate prices are expected to fall over the next three years, but the estimated cost of...

Professor Van Dyke's Who Owns The Crown Lands Of Hawaii - Book Review By Paul Sullivan, Esq.

Posted on April 12, 2009
Attorney Paul M. Sullivan, currently a lawyer for the U.S. Navy but formerly an adjunct professor at the U. Hawaii Law School and a member of the Hawaii State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, has reviewed...

So. Cal. Heads-Up: Jeff Benedict/Little Pink House In Santa Barbara On Tuesday 4/14

Posted on April 12, 2009
For those of you within striking range of Santa Barbara on Tuesday, April 14, Jeff Benedict, the author of Little Pink House - A True Story of Defiance and Courage (Grand Central Publishing 2009) (available from Amazon here) will be...

Federal Circuit: Commercial Fishing Ban Frustrated Contract, But Is Not A Taking

Posted on April 11, 2009
Thanks to my fellow Damon Key land user Greg Kugle for letting me know the Federal Circuit has affirmed Palmyra Pacific Seafoods, L.L.C. v. United States, 80 Fed. Cl. 228 (Jan. 22, 2008), a case we summarized here. The Federal...

Hawaii's Good Friday Holiday: It's Like Thanksgiving And Christmas

Posted on April 10, 2009
If you are wondering why your calls to State and County offices go unanswered tomorrow, it is because it is Good Friday, a legal holiday in the State of Hawaii pursuant to Haw. Rev. Stat. § 8-1. The day of...

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