Monthly Archives: December 2009

Last month, Roanoke Judge William D. Broadhurst granted Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s (RRHA) petition to take private property owned by Jay and Stephanie Burkholder (B&B Holdings, LLC) using the Authority’s power of eminent domain. Judge Broadhurst indicated in his November 12, 2009 correspondence to counsel that although evidence had been presented by B&B’s attorneys which “clearly suggests to the Court that the City was responding to pressure from Carilion in trying to direct the conclusions that RRHA would reach” with respect to the blight study, RRHA had been sufficiently insulated and had independently found “blight” in the neighborhood, and therefore the B&B property could be taken.

As we noted here previously, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday in the most recent property rights case to go before the bench Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep’t of Environmental Protection.

The Supreme Court has released the unofficial transcript for today’s argument in Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection. A pdf of the transcript is available here. More to follow once we have had time to read it.

Yesterday Fox Business News featured a segment on eminent domain with John Stossel. OCA Member and Institute for Justice Senior Attorney, Dana Berliner (co-counsel to Susette Kelo), and Jeff Benedict, author of “Little Pink House.” Discussion focused on Kelo, Pfizer’s recent announcement that it would leave New London and eminent domain abuse in general. Stossel also points to Anaheim, California as an example of how government can stimulate development by streamlining building and zoning regulations, avoiding eminent domain and saving tax payers dollars.

On Wednesday, December 2, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep’t of Environmental Protection, et al. For background on the case see our previous posts here and here as well as the case resource page on inversecondemnation.com by OCA Hawaii Member, Robert Thomas.