News & Events

A recent Supreme Court  decision out of Massachusetts illustrates the need to make sure a property owner receives what is deemed preliminary compensation (referred to in the opinion as the “pro tanto payment”) when a condemnor exercises its quick take powers to acquire and take control of an owner’s property before the condemnation action is completed and before the final determination of just compensation has been made. Indeed, the...

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The U.S. Supreme Court announced on Feb. 3rd that it would hear the appeal on an eminent domain case involving PennEast Pipeline Co.’s efforts to build a 120-mile, 36-in. natural gas pipeline across open space and public lands preserved by the State of New Jersey for recreation, conservation and agriculture purposes. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the project in January 2018. However, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of...

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office has dropped its legal efforts to immediately take possession of at least three tracts of land in South Texas that had been earmarked for stretches of the border wall, citing President Joe Biden’s plan to pause construction projects. Ryan Patrick, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said in the court filings the executive order Biden signed on his first day in office on Jan. 20...

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A couple who own mineral rights within the City of Boulder, Colorado are now suing the city over its oil and gas moratorium on the basis that it violates the Fifth Amendment’s rule against taking private property without just compensation. The couple, John and Valorie Wells, are being represented by the Public Trust Institute. The moratorium originates from an ordinance enacted in June 2013 that prohibits the city manager...

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Registration is now open for the biggest and best eminent domain and land valuation conference that has taken place annually for nearly 40 years. Given the pandemic it will be held virtually for the first time on January 28th and 29th. For more information about this event and to register click here.

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In a complaint filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon against Oregon’s governor (in her official capacity), the City of Portland, and Multnomah County, Plaintiffs assert that “several provisions of law, including state statutes, executive orders, and municipal ordinances” amount to a per se taking of Plaintiffs’ property. More specifically, Plaintiffs alledge that the combination of these measures significantly impairs Plaintiffs’ rental contracts, thereby requiring...

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In DW Aina Lea Dev., LLC v. State of Hawaii Land Use Comm’n, No. SCCQ-19-156 (Dec. 17, 2020), the unanimous Hawaii Supreme Court held that the statute of limitations governing a regulatory takings claim under the Hawaii Constitution’s “takings or damagings” clause is six years. The case started out in a Hawaii state court, and was removed to the U.S. District Court by the State Land Use Commission. The district...

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In an opinion just released by the Virginia Supreme Court involving OCA members Joshua Baker and Joe Waldo titled Johnson v. City of Suffolk, the court ruled that Virginia oystermen did not present a viable takings claim to obtain compensation when the City of Suffolk and its Sanitation District dumped raw sewage into the Nansemond river and declared a “condemnation zone” (i.e., no oyster harvesting). Specifically, the court concluded that the...

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In recognizing Dwight Merriam for its first annual New England Trailblazers publication last year, Connecticut Law Tribune called the four-decade legal veteran “a major figure in American planning law.” Based in Weatogue, CT, Merriam represents land owners, developers, governments, and individuals in land use matters. The Connecticut Law Tribune says Merriam is “one of just a handful of nationally-recognized true planner-lawyers, fully credentialed in both professions.” It was Merriam’s desire...

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Since the beginning of the pandemic we have seen Governors and State Legislatures across the country implement  an array of policies in an attempt to contain the virus and its socioeconomic impacts. Many of these policies effectively broadened the scope of government power while placing a heavy burden on property owners and businesses already struggling during the COVID 19 pandemic.  Jim Burling from Pacific Legal Foundation and Robert Thomas...

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