BLOG: Condemnation Law
SCOTUS Rejects Bright-Line Rule, Adopts a Multifactor Standard in Relevant Parcel Analysis
In the context of regulatory takings, issues often arise in identifying what the actual property consists of before the taking. Because the test for regulatory takings require the courts to compare the value that has been taken from the property with the value that remains in the property, one of the critical components in the... Read More
State Law Held to Apply in Federal Court Pipeline Taking
A Florida Federal District Court judge court recently held that Florida’s state eminent domain laws should be applied to a taking by a private pipeline company which relied upon the Natural Gas Act, federal law which allows private companies to use eminent domain in the federal courts “in matters relating to the transportation of natural gas... Read More
Property Owner’s Second Bite at the Apple Not So Tasty as the First
A New Jersey appellate court just affirmed the denial of property owner’s challenge to a condemnation premised on a failure of pre-complaint bona fide negotiations. Montclair v Cerino 2017 a0753-15. The Township of Montclair had previously commenced a condemnation action to acquire a property along Valley Road that was used by the property owner to store... Read More
Property Owners Protest Penn East Pipeline at Delaware RiverKeeper Meeting
Legions of property owners turned out in opposition to the proposed Penn East Natural Gas pipeline at the at the quarterly meeting of Delaware River Basin Commission. Reported here. The general comments were consist with those of Doug O’Malleym director of Environment New Jersey: “PennEast is trying to peddle a pipeline to the residents of... Read More
Challenge to Redevelopment Action Decades After Finding of Blight Denied
The Appellate Division recently analyzed an old blight designation in Ocean County in a January 18, 2017 opinion. You may have to read it more than once to understand the convoluted fact pattern. Or, you may want to skip ahead to the legal analysis because it is short and to the point. Two tracts... Read More
Interstate Gas Pipelines in NJ – Public Use or Private Benefit?
Photo credit. http://www.spectraenergy.com/Natural-Gas-Oil-101/ New Jersey is the most densely populated State in the Union. It may soon have the most underground gas transmission lines. The latest in a series of new pipelines is being proposed in New Jersey is by PennEast, a subsidiary of Spectra Energy. An interactive map of the proposed route can be... Read More
Eminent Domain in a Nutshell – More Takings on the Horizon?
Eminent domain has frequently been in the news over the past few months, part in thanks to president-elect Donald Trump’s support for and involvement in the practice, and also the controversial Dakota oil pipeline. Amidst all of the media attention, here is a review of the basic tenets of eminent domain. Eminent domain refers to... Read More
NJ Transit v. Franco – Property Owner Verdict Overturned on Appeal
On October 19, 2016, almost seven years after a condemnation action was commenced, the Appellate Division published an opinion reversing an $8,150,000 jury verdict in favor of the property owners from 2013. The pre-condemnation offer of compensation was $934,500. The trial judge also ordered that $1,967,865 be escrowed in the Superior Court Trust Fund to cover... Read More
A Comprehensive Guide to Eminent Domain Just Compensation
In an eminent domain case, when a governmental agency or other condemning authority takes private property, the property owner is constitutionally entitled to receive eminent domain just compensation for the taking. This refers to the amount of money that will make the owner whole and indemnify them for the loss of the property. Frequently, just... Read More
CRDA Denied Authority to Take – Birnbaum Wins on Reconsideration
On August 5, 2016, Judge Mendez reversed himself issuing an Order holding that the Casino Reinvestment Development Corp.’s condemnation of the Birnbaum property was a “manifest abuse of the eminent domain power” and exceeded CRDA’s statutory authority. Thereby dismissing the case commenced over two years ago. Initially the Court denied the Birnbaum’s challenge to the... Read More
