BLOG: Condemnation Law
Eminent Domain Questions Asked of U.S.Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan at Confirmation Hearings
Even before Senator Charles Grassley (R. Iowa) questioned Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan on July 1, 2010, about property rights and the Court’s Kelo decision, the media expected and suggested that she address the topic. See Christian Science Monitor ; or George Will’s column from the Washington Post. Senator Grassley was not satisfied with Kagan’s answers... Read More
Old Bridge Councilman and Resident Teaming Up to Propose Eminent Domain Restrictions
Old Bridge Township Councilman-at-Large Brian Cahill, and local resident Tony Piscetti, are in the early stages of researching and drafting a municipal ordinance which would prohibit the use of eminent domain to seize property for tax revenue purposes. The work is being done at the request of Old Bridge residents. Cahill acknowledged that the ordinance... Read More
Recovery of Owner’s Attorneys’ Fees Limited in “Complicated” Inverse Condemnation Case
A New Jersey appeals court recently limited a Bergen County property owner’s ability to recover attorneys’ fees in an inverse condemnation proceeding to those fees actually and reasonably incurred in connection with the condemnation. The plaintiff, NJ Capital Partners, LLC, filed an inverse condemnation action after the Oakland Planning Board denied its subdivision application twice. After... Read More
NY High Court Permits Taking for Columbia University Expansion
The New York Court of Appeals reversed the decision of a lower court, holding that a Columbia University expansion project could proceed, resulting in the taking of private property for use by a private university. The court below had concluded that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the Columbia University Educational Mixed Use Development Land... Read More
Jury Verdict in Cliffside Park Case Upheld on Appeal
Verdict not based on averaging or misconduct according to New Jersey’s Appellate Division An opinion released by a New Jersey appellate court found that a jury properly carried out its duties in Borough of Cliffside Park v. Estate of Ignatius Catanzaro., a condemnation case involving Cliffside Park’s taking of a downtown commercial building containing a restaurant... Read More
"Powerhouse" Redevelopment Amendment Allowed for Decades Old Blight Designation
The New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division recently published its decision affirming a trial court decision which disallowed a challenge to an amendment to a redevelopment pan by the City of Jersey City in its Powerhouse Redevelopment Area. Powerhouse Arts District Neighborhood Assoc. v. City Council, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div, 2010). Along the way... Read More
"Bizarre" Condemnation Case Resolved — Family Can Seek Payment for Avalon Beach Property
New Jersey Supreme Court Permits Filing of Inverse Condemnation in 40 Year Old Dune “Taking” Case The New Jersey Supreme Court decided earlier this week that Edward and Nancy Klumpp could pursue an inverse condemnation action decades after the Borough of Avalon constructed a dune on their property following a 1962 Nor’easter which destroyed their beachfront... Read More
Kelo Five Years Later – It Still Matters
The case that brought eminent domain into national prominence turned five yesterday. In that five years Suzette Kelo’s house has been removed from its original location, Pfizer closed its global research and development headquarters in New London, Conn., and the area contains large swaths of vacant land, with no redevelopment to speak of. However, as... Read More
Can NO Compensation Be Just Compensation?
VFW Denied Opportunity to Argue Eminent Domain Case to U.S. Supreme Court This week the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari review in City of Milwaukee Post No. 2874 Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States v. Redevelopment Agency of the City of Milwaukee, No. 09-1204 (cert. petition filed Apr. 2, 2010). The VFW,... Read More
Supreme Court Denies Compensation to Owners in Beach Replenishment
This morning, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the state of Florida can proceed with beach replenishment projects without paying property owners who lose private beach access rights as a result. The unanimous vote of the Court in Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection rejected claims by property owners... Read More
