Tag: eminent domain/condemnation

Posted on Nov 8, 2011 in News & Events

Voters in Mississippi are at the polls today to elect a new governor and legislature as well as decide upon a number of measures. Among them is Initiative 31, a citizen’s initiative for a constitutional amendment to prohibit the state and local governments from using the power of eminent domain to condemn private property and transfer it to another private individual or entity for a period of 10 years after acquisition. Initiative 31 has garnered much media attention and Campaign Insider has called this a “ballot battle to watch.”

Posted on Jul 19, 2011 in News & Events

Last week the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a property owner’s First Amendment right to protest the abusive eminent domain policies of the City of St. Louis. The case concerns a St. Louis property owner, Jim Roods, who opposed the city’s definition of blight and condemnation of his housing agency’s private property for private redevelopment.

Posted on Jul 18, 2011 in News & Events

On July 14, 2011, our colleagues* at Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert in Honolulu, Hawaii filed a cert petition (see below) asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Hawaii Supreme Court’s decision in County of Hawaii v. C&J Coupe Family Ltd. P’ship, 242 P.3d 1136 (Haw. 2010)

Posted on Jul 5, 2011 in News & Events

What: The 8th Annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference
Where: Tsinghua University School of Law, Beijing, China

Posted on Jun 7, 2011 in News & Events

In this interview with Dbusiness Magazine, attorney Darius Dynkowski* discusses the procedures and laws of eminent domain with respect to the proposed New International Trade Crossing, also known as the Detroit-Windsor Bridge. He explains what residents and business owners in the footprint of the project site can expect if and when the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) begins acquiring property for this proposed project.

Posted on May 10, 2011 in News & Events

On Thursday, May 12, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer allowed Montana House Bill 198 (HB 198) concerning eminent domain to become law. Despite the imbalanced aspects within HB 198 favoring big business over landowners’ rights, Gov. Schweitzer chose to not veto the bill allowing it to become law.

Posted on Apr 15, 2011 in News & Events

In a recent arbitration, a panel of arbitrators awarded property owner, Harrison Eagle, LLP nearly $25 million for the taking of approximately 10 acres of property adjacent to the PATH commuter rail station and proximate to the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. The town’s redevelopment agency used the power of eminent domain to take the private property and convey it to a private redeveloper and as such the arbitration amount is to be paid to the owner by the developer, Pegasus Group.

Posted on Apr 13, 2011 in News & Events

Yesterday, Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Maxine Waters (D-CA) introduced H.R. 1433, the “Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2011.” This bipartisan bill prohibits states and municipalities from using eminent domain for private development if they have received federal economic development funds. H.R. 1433 also prohibits the federal government from using eminent domain for economic development, the taking of private property and transferring of it to another private entity in order to increase tax revenue, jobs or for general economic growth.

Posted on Feb 15, 2011 in News & Events

Yesterday, Associated Press journalist Sandra Chereb quoted Nevada Assemblyman William Horne, D-Las Vegas, as saying that he is not opposed to a bill that would strip mining companies and Nevada’s sugar beet industry of the power of eminent: “I don’t have any opposition to the bill,” he quipped. “I don’t like beets.”

Posted on Feb 4, 2011 in News & Events

The 28th Annual American Law Institute-American Bar Association (ALI-ABA) Eminent Domain & Land Valuation Litigation Course will take place Thursday, February 17 – Saturday, February 19, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency in Coral Gables, Florida. The course runs concurrently with ALI-ABA’s annual Course of Study, Condemnation 101: Making the Complex Simple in Eminent Domain.