BLOG:
Adoption of Rehabilitation Plan in Woodbridge Not A Taking (D.N.J.)
From the United States District Court comes a new opinion from Judge Chesler, but there’s nothing new in the precedent cited denying a property’s owner’s claim of “inverse condemnation.” Simply stated, an inverse condemnation case is a procedure for a property owner to secure just compensation where government has taken private property for public use... Read More
NJ Sports Authority Threatening to Take Municipal Landfill
The NJ Sports and Exposition Authority, which runs the Meadowlands’ Sports Complex; New Jersey’s horsetracks; and now the former New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (itself the successor to the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission); recently advised the Town of Kearny that it intends to seize the Keegan Landfill by eminent domain. It appears that NJSEA has... Read More
Relevant Parcel Question on the U.S. Supreme Court Docket for 2016
Last week, the Court granted a cert. petition, which presented the following question: “In a regulatory taking case, does the “parcel as a whole” concept as described in Penn Central Transportation Company v. City of New York, 438 U.S. 104, 130-31 (1978), establish a rule that two legally distinct, but commonly owned contiguous parcels, must... Read More
Challenge to Redevelopment Bonds Untimely
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently affirmed dismissal of a property owner’s challenge to a municipal ordinance that authorized issuance of $6.3M in municipal bonds to fund redevelopment of the famous Edison Battery Building in West Orange, N.J. Opinion here. The owner’s group filed their challenge 53 days after final publication of the bond ordinance.... Read More
Citizens and Property Owners Unhappy about Proposed Penn East Pipeline
As reported by Lehigh Valley Live, Penn East submitted its application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in late September to install a gas transmission line that would cross through several New Jersey counties and into Pennsylvania. The new pipeline is part of Penn East’s Southern Reliability Link and would connect with the Williams-Transco... Read More
Grand Central Sues Over Air Rights Taking
In retaliatory fashion, the owner of Grand Central Station has sued the City of New York, et al. because of a recent approval that would allow its neighbor to construct a 1,000 foot high office tower. The New York Times reported on September 28th that the owner “filed a $1.1 billion lawsuit in United States... Read More
Restrictive Covenant in NY Zoning Approval Presents Prima Facie Case of Regulatory Taking
As reported by our Owners Counsel colleague, Mike Rikon, the New York Appellate Division reversed a Supreme Court ruling that had dismissed a regulatory takings claims in Blue Is. Dev., LLC v Town of Hempstead, 2015 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 6363, 2015 NY Slip Op 06488 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dep’t Aug. 12, 2015). The property... Read More
From the Virgin Islands – Quick Take Not Reviewable on Appeal
One way to imagine being on the island of St Thomas is to read an opinion of the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands. This “vacation” is work related because it is a condemnation case. The case is Beachside Associates, LLC v. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority and was published on June 30, 2015.... Read More
California Appellate Court Remands Case for Award of Fees and Costs to Owner's Counsel
Under California law, if the Court finds that the government’s final settlement offer was unreasonable and the property owner’s demand was reasonable, the Court is permitted to award the property owner its litigation expenses. So, after exchange of appraised valuations of $3.8M (government) and $10,875 (owner), the government offered to settle the case for $5M... Read More
