News & Events

Many will recall the infamous Map Act that was adopted in North Carolina during the 1990’s. As a result the North Carolina Department of Transporation (NCDOT) recorded corridor maps that restricted the use of property in the path of several future road projects similar to negative easements. Although the North Carolina General Assembly repealed the maps in 2016, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that these restrictions amounted to...

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In his Condemnation and Tax Certiorari column, OCA New York Member Michael Rikon discusses partial acquisitions in condemnation cases and writes: “Within the area of consequential damages, we must explore, not only the loss in value suered by the remaining property, but the possible benefits to that remainder which are the result of the improvement for which the part taken was acquired. To further complicate things, the question arises,...

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The Nebraska Supreme Court has affirmed the decision of the Nebraska Public Service Commission’s (PSC) to approve a route through Nebraska for the XL Pipeline, completing one of the final steps before construction of the controversial project can begin. A copy of the full decision can be read here. The project plan is to bury a 36-inch crude oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada to Southern Nebraska. First announced in...

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OCA has asked leave to file an Amicus Brief in the case of DW Aina Lea Development vs. State of Hawaii Land Use, currently before the Hawaii Supreme Court.  The Brief, authored by OCA Member Robert Thomas, can be read in full here. The question presented before the Hawaii Supreme Court is the applicable statute of limitations for regulatory takings claims under the Hawaii Constitution’s “takings or damagings” clause....

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On Friday, July 26th from 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET the Land Use Committee of the ABA’s Section of State and Local Government Law is sponsoring a free (for Section members) informal webinar about the latest in takings law:Knick Picking Regulatory Takings: Did the Court Right a Wrong, or Wrong a Right? OCA presenters Dwight Merriam (featured to the left) and Robert Thomas (featured below) will discuss reaction...

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OCA Member Robert Thomas seeks to alert all property owners in his recent posting on the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision in Knick v. Township of Scott: Heads up, property owners: last week the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling changing the way property rights lawsuits have been handled for the last thirty years. In Knick v. Township of Scott, the Court allowed property...

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Congratulations to the Pacific Legal Foundation for winning a big property rights case today! In 2013, Rose Knick was forced to allow public access to a suspected gravesite on her ranch. Ms. Knick  sued over the unconstitutional property taking, but a federal court refused to hear her federal claim citing the 1985 Supreme Court decision Williamson County. Ms. Knick went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court  seeking...

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The decision in an important takings case, Knick v. Township of Scott, Pennsylvania, reargued Jan. 16, is soon to be released. Be watching for it,… By Dwight Merriam | June 11, 2019. Read more.

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Thor Hearne, a parter at Larson O’Brien and perhaps the best known lawyer specializing in Rails to Trails litigation recently filed another lawsuit in the Federal Court of Claims on behalf of 150 landowners whose property is part of an eight-mile rail corridor that will be used to expand Sarasota’s “Legacy Trail.” Despite the fact that in the last 10 years the federal government has had to pay millions to...

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Whether he knows it or not, by declaring a national emergency to build his wall President Donald Trump has doomed the centerpiece of his presidency to an eternity of fights in Congress and the courts. Trump does not see or chooses not to see the naked truth that as a practical matter, the nature of eminent domain litigation and federal law will prevent him from ever assembling the land...

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