OCA Blog

The Owners' Counsel of America and National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Legal Center have jointly filed an amici curiae brief in support of the landowner in Brandt v. United States, No. 12-1173 (cert. granted October 1, 2013) urging the United States Supreme Court to reverse a Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decision which held that the United States retained an implied reversionary interest in railroad rights...

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On October 18, OCA member-attorneys participated in the 10th annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference at William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia. Annually, legal scholars, practitioners and members of the judiciary who have a specific interest in property law and property rights gather to discuss current topics in takings law and property rights.

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We are currently attending, along with a number of legal scholars, practicing lawyers and law school students, the 10th Annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference at William & Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Conference began Thursday evening with the presentation of the Brigham-Kanner Prize to Professor Thomas W. Merrill, the Charles Evan Hughes Professor at Columbia Law School.

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Earlier this week the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States, (12-1173). As our colleague, Robert Thomas, explains this was a "not-entirely-unexpected move" by the Court due to the fact that the Tenth Circuit acknowledged that its ruling created a "circuit split" and the Solicitor General did not oppose the landowner's petition.

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Jacksonville-based eminent domain and property rights attorney, Andrew Prince Brigham, has been invited to speak at the 10th Annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia, October 17-18, 2013. Mr. Brigham, principal attorney at Brigham Property Rights Law Firm, PLLC and the Florida member of Owners’ Counsel of America, will take part in a roundtable discussion regarding the extent to which government should restrain from interfering with private...

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The William & Mary Law School Property Rights Project has invited Minneapolis-based condemnation lawyer, Mark D. Savin, to speak at the 10th Annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference October 17-18, 2013 in Williamsburg, Virginia.

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Yesterday, in St. Louis Cnty v River Bend Estates Homeowners' Ass'n, No. SC92470 (Sep. 10, 2013), the Missouri Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of Missouri's Heritage Value Statute,§§ 523.001(2) and 523.061 RSMo, that awards certain property owners a 50% increase over the fair market value of their property when the property is taken by eminent domain.

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The Owners' Counsel of America has filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the landowner in Dillard Land Investments, LLC v. Fulton County, Georgia (No. S13C1582) urging the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia to grant certiorari review and correct the decision by the Georgia Court of Appeals, which permits an improper use of eminent domain power and is grossly unfair to Georgia landowners.

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The Owners’ Counsel of America is pleased to announce that Manhattan-based condemnation lawyer, Michael Rikon, has been invited to speak at the 10th Annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia, October 17-18, 2013. Mr. Rikon, a partner at Goldstein, Rikon, Rikon & Houghton, P.C. and the New York member of Owners’ Counsel of America, will take part in a round-table discussion regarding the impact of recent U.S....

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An eminent domain battle has been brewing in Longmont, Colorado regarding a proposed $80 million redevelopment plan for Twin Peaks Mall, an indoor shopping mall. The players include the Longmont Urban Renewal Authority (LURA), mall owner NewMark Merrill Mountain States, and Dillard's, Inc. an upscale national retailer, mall anchor and landowner. Negotiations over the specifics of the redevelopment project began last year between NewMark Merrill and Dillard's...

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