Yearly Archives: 2010

Friday’s New York Post includes an article by Glenn Harlan Reynolds about the Columbia University eminent domain case and the recent Supreme Court decision to deny cert. Mr. Reynolds discusses the importance of property rights and how the term “public use” has been redefined by the courts “to include pretty much anything the government wants to do with the property.

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the Columbia University eminent domain case Tuck-It-Away, Inc. v. New York State Urban Dev. Corp., No. 10-402 (cert. petition filed Sep. 21, 2010).

Nick Sprayregen, owner of Tuck It Away, the lead plaintiff in the Columbia eminent domain case on petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court, explains in the Youtube video above how New York state’s eminent domain procedures favor the condemnors and deny property owners due process of law.

Yesterday, eminent domain and land use attorney, Robert Thomas, live blogged the oral arguments held before the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals on a closely watched takings case in Hawaii. Robert, along with his Damon Key colleagues Mark Murakami and Rebecca Copeland, provided live commentary and background while simultaneously following the arguments.

SCOTUSblog has included the Columbia University eminent domain case Tuck-It-Away, Inc. v. New York State Urban Development Corporation, dba Empire State Development Corporation, Docket 10-402 in this week’s edition of “Petitions to Watch.” The petition for certiorari filed by these Harlem property owners will be included among the many the Court will consider when the Justices conference tomorrow, December 10.

On Wednesday, the Connecticut Bar Association will hold the Fifth Annual Property Rights Seminar: Update on Eminent Domain and Regulatory Takings at the Connecticut Bar Association Law Center in New Britain, CT.

William & Mary Law School has announced that Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will receive the 2011 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Prize at the 8th annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights conference, scheduled for October 14-15, 2011 in Beijing. The 2011 conference is co-sponsored by Tsinghua University School of Law and will take place during the university’s 100th anniversary celebration.

Utility providers such as natural gas, electric, telecommunications and water/sewer companies generally may be granted the power of eminent domain by the local, state or federal government for the purpose of constructing utility infrastructure that is considered a public purpose or having public benefit. The power of eminent domain may be bestowed upon such utility companies, whether considered private or public, by statute and often must be approved by government regulatory agencies, such as FERC in the case of pipelines and transmission projects.

In late August of this year, a jury in Benton County, Arkansas awarded $4.67 million to property owners as just compensation for the taking of their private property. The property totaling 19.26 acres was owned by Thomas and Judith Terrell and was taken by eminent domain in order to construct the Bella Vista Toll Facility, also known as the Bella Vista Bypass.

Edward D. McKirdy, OCA New Jersey Member and founding partner of McKirdy & Riskin in Morristown, NJ has been named as the “Newark Area Best Lawyers Eminent Domain and Condemnation Lawyer of the Year” for 2011 by Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession.