Monthly Archives: September 2010

Yesterday, the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas, Texas heard oral argument in the defamation suit brought by developer H. Walker Royall against author Carla Main and the non-profit publisher, Encounter For Culture and Education, Inc. (“Encounter Books”), for writing and publishing the book Bulldozed: “Kelo,” Eminent Domain and the American Lust for Land. Dana Berliner, Institute for Justice Senior Attorney, argued on behalf of Main and Encounter Books in support of their first amendment rights to freedom of speech and in opposition to developer H. Walk Royall’s request for monetary damages and that the Court prohibit further printing or distribution of the book.

Tomorrow, September 28, 2010, author Carla T. Main and publisher Encounter Books will ask a Texas appeals court to dismiss the defamation lawsuit filed against them by Dallas developer H. Walker Royall.

Two Mississippi landowners have recently reached a $1.2 million settlement with the United States Navy regarding compensation for land taken for use by Special Boat Team TWENTY-TWO (SBT-22) as a special operations live-fire riverine training range along the Pearl River in Hancock County, Mississippi. SBT-22, based at John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, is one of three Special Boat Teams.

Robert Smith’s family has owned the 100-acre Willow Pond Farm in Washington Township, NJ since 1790. Today, more than 200 years since the family began working the farm, its future as a working farm and preserved farmland is threatened by the Washington Township Municipal Utilities Authority’s (MUA) plan to condemn 0.86 acres of the property for the purpose of drilling a public well to provide water for the municipal drinking supply.

Albeit a bit belated, we send our best wishes for another great year in blogging to our fellow law blogger Robert Thomas who celebrated the 4th anniversary of the birth of his blog www.inversecondemnaton.com on August 31.

Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt, one of the Pacific Northwest’s leading law firms, has entered the wonderful world of law blogging. Joining us and our fellow bloggers in the areas of eminent domain, condemnation, inverse condemnation, regulatory takings and property rights in Schwabe’s Condemnation Law Blog are Schwabe attorneys Dennis Dunphy, Jill Gelineau and Jamilia Johnson.

The 2010 annual meeting of the American Bar Association featured a panel discussion moderated by OCA member Robert Thomas, a Hawaii land use and appellate lawyer. The topic was the recent Supreme Court case, Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection.