BLOG: Condemnation Law
A New Years’ Great Eight: Number 1
End of year, we all get bombarded with “best of” or “top 10, 20, 100” lists. So, how about starting the year with eight great condemnation cases? Number 1. Monongahela Navigation Co. v. United States, 148 U.S. 312 (1893). A grand-daddy in its 130th anniversary year! A bountiful feast of elemental principles of just compensation... Read More
South Carolina City Pulls the Plug on Banning U-Haul Rentals
A property owner in Mauldin, South Carolina felt some holiday cheer this December when he found out that the city repealed an amortization ordinance that would have banned his long-standing U-Haul rental business. For over a decade, Jeremy Sark and his partner Marie Dougherty operated a U-Haul rental business alongside Sark’s Automotive shop in Mauldin.... Read More
Redevelopment of Famed “Horn Antenna” Site Looming?
The site of the former Nokia property in Holmdel Township could be receiving a makeover if the Township Committee gets its way. On November 22, 2022, the Holmdel Township Committee passed resolution 2022-307, authorizing the Township Planning Board to investigate whether the property at 791 Holmdel Road may be designated as an area in... Read More
Do Takings Claims Survive Transfer of Title?
Read an interesting opinion by a California trial court dismissing an inverse condemnation action.NCP Imperial v. L.A. County, 2022 Cal. Super. LEXIS 60513 An inverse condemnation action alleges that private property has been taken for public use without just compensation. A prevailing plaintiff gets a condemnation valuation case. The majority of the “inverse” opinions I... Read More
Seasons Greetings – Easements and Partial Takings
Property has often been described as a bundle of rights, and narratively depicted as a bundle of sticks. I was recently preparing to try a case involving an easement taking, which was resolved at the 11th hour as many cases do. Thinking about how best to present the case to a jury, a recurring thought... Read More
Unambiguous PILOT Agreement Upheld by Appellate Division
A unique characteristic of an “area in need of redevelopment” under the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law is that our State Constitution allows properties in the area to be exempted from real property taxation, and instead subject to long-term tax abatements for payments “in lieu of taxes” under agreements between the property owner and the... Read More
7th Cir. Axes “Judicial Takings” Theory in Lakefront Property Case
The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decided an interesting takings case this past cycle which involved several Indiana properties that abut Lake Michigan. In Pavlock v. Holcomb, the property owners asserted a relatively novel “judicial takings” theory that was ultimately rejected by the panel. The Court held that the lakefront owners could not sue... Read More
U.S. Tax Court Addresses Conservation Easement Valuation
Conservation Easement Valuation & The U.S. Tax Court On October 17, 2022, the United States Tax Court rendered a forty-three (43) page opinion in Champions Retreat Golf Founders, LLC, Riverwood Land, LLC Tax Matters Partner v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue (hereafter “Champions Retreat”) that established the valuation for the conservation easement that was donated in... Read More
SCOTUS Locks Crosshairs on Key Property Rights Issue
Although our blog primarily focuses on eminent domain related issues in the courts, our ears perk up whenever the High Court decides to clarify a significant property rights issue. In Wilkins v. United States, No. 21-1164, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear argument on November 30, 2022, regarding the following question presented: Two Montana... Read More
Was Eminent Domain “Made in America”? Upstate NY Residents Soon To Find Out
Nearly 20 years after the United States Supreme Court issued its controversial opinion in Kelo v. City of New London, an economic development project near Syracuse, New York has residents wondering whether their homes and businesses will be taken by eminent domain in order that a computer chip factory can be built by Micron, one... Read More
