Defending Constitutional Property Rights

Amy Brigham Boulris is a proud Honorary member of OCA. Like her father, Toby Prince Brigham, founder of OCA, Amy has devoted her entire law practice to the defense of constitutional property rights in the context of eminent domain, inverse condemnation, property-related civil rights claims, and related land-use litigation. She is admitted to practice in all Florida state and federal courts, and the Federal Court of Claims.

Significant Eminent Domain and Property Rights Representations and Reported Decisions

• Established that claims under the Bert J. Harris Jr. Property Rights Protection Act are not barred by sovereign immunity. Royal World Metropolitan Inc. v. City of Miami Beach, 863 So.2d 320 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004), rev. den. 2005 Fla. LEXIS 292 (Fla. 2005)
• Pro bono effort in support of property rights reform through initiative petition amendment to Florida Constitution.
• Advisory Opinion to the Florida State Attorney General, in re: Property Rights Initiative, 699 So.2d 1304 (Fla. 1997)
• Established limitations on admissibility of contamination evidence in eminent domain valuation cases. Finkelstein v. Dept. of Transportation, 656 So.2d 921 (Fla. 1995)
• Successfully challenged attempt by City of Miami to impose development condition on downtown landowner requiring that its legally compliant high-rise project be re-designed to accommodate right of way for potential future tunnel project. The City withdrew condition and allowed project to proceed as originally designed after receipt of the firm’s certiorari petition detailing the reasons why the purported development condition constituted an illegal exaction of property rights.

Speaking Engagements

Highlighted below are a selection of Amy’s most recent presentations. To view a full list of her speeches and published works, please visit here.

• Co-presenter, “Developments in Eminent Domain Law,” ALI-CLE Eminent Domain Conference 2014 (with Professor Gideon Kanner)
• Lecturer, “Not Exactly: The Future of Alleged Future Exactions,” CLEI Eminent Domain Conference 2014
• Lecturer, “Update on Exactions,” ALI-CLE Land Use Institute 2013
• Lecturer, “Caselaw Update — Exactions,” ALI-ABA Land Use Institute, Planning, Regulations, Litigation, Eminent Domain and Compensation, August 2011
• Lecturer, “Development Exactions as Takings,” CLEI, Tampa, FL, May 2011
• Co-presenter, “Part II of the Harris Act: The Florida Land Use and Environmental Dispute Resolution Act,” CLEI, Tampa, FL, May 2011
• Lecturer, “Potential Amendments to the Bert J. Harris Private Property Rights Protection Act,” CLEI, Tampa, FL, May 2011
• Lecturer, “Update on Planning, Land Use and Eminent Domain Decisions,” ALI-ABA Land Use Institute, Planning, Regulation, Litigation, Eminent Domain and Compensation, August 2009
• Guest lecturer on the Harris Act, University of Miami Law School LLM Program of Real Property Development, 2007-12
• Co-Author, Professional Forum Article, South Florida Legal Guide, 2010
• Lecturer, “The Aftermath of Atlantic Yards: Eminent Domain in New York”, ALI-ABA, December 2009
• Author/Lecturer, “Update on Planning, Land Use and Eminent Domain Decisions”, ALI-ABA Land Use Institute, Planning, Regulation, Litigation, Eminent Domain, and Compensation, August, 2009
• Author/Lecturer, “How Public Use Affects the Right-to-Take Litigation across the States”, ALI-ABA Eminent Domain & Land Valuation Litigation, January, 2009
• Author/Lecturer, “Public Use in a Post-Kelo World: Show Me the Limits”, The Center for American and International Law Planning, Zoning and Property Rights, December, 2008
• Co-Author/Lecturer, “Update on Economic Development and Redevelopment” and “2007-2008 Update on Judicial Reactions to Kelo”, ALI-ABA Land Use Institute, Planning, Regulation, Litigation, Eminent Domain, and Compensation, August, 2008
• Lecturer, Eminent Domain Series, Professional Education Broadcast Network, July, 2008
• Lecturer, “Supreme Court Rules on Eminent Domain for Private Development”, ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education, July, 2008
• Lecturer, University of Miami re: LLM – Masters of Law Degree, April, 2008

Professional Affiliations

• Florida Bar, Appellate Practice Section
• Pacific Legal Foundation, Board of Trustees