Monthly Archives: December 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.