In a significant victory for property owners in Pignetti v. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has relaxed the standard for establishing that two noncontiguous parcels of...more
5/2/2025
/ Appeals ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Eminent Domain ,
Just Compensation ,
Land Owners ,
Land Parcels ,
PA Supreme Court ,
Pennsylvania ,
Property Owners ,
Property Valuation ,
State and Local Government ,
Transportation Industry
In a significant victory for property owners, the Arizona Supreme Court held this week that damages in condemnation cases can include compensation for the reduction in value caused by the proximity of homes to a new highway...more
2/3/2025
/ Appellate Courts ,
Arizona ,
AZ Supreme Court ,
Condemnation ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Damages ,
Easements ,
Eminent Domain ,
Just Compensation ,
Property Owners ,
Real Estate Development ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
State and Local Government
The Pennsylvania deadlines for appealing 2025 real estate taxes are fast approaching. There are several factors to consider in determining whether to appeal....more
In a lengthy ruling, a Seattle federal judge has allowed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to proceed with its groundbreaking case alleging that Amazon’s Prime online subscription marketing tactics constituted deceptive...more
6/4/2024
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Marketing ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Online Marketplace ,
Online Platforms ,
Subscription Services ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The U.S. Supreme Court last week unanimously held that the Takings Clause of the Constitution prevents legislatures, as well as administrative agencies, from imposing unconstitutional conditions on land-use permits....more
4/17/2024
/ Building Permits ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Exactions ,
Fees ,
George Sheetz v County of El Dorado ,
Impact Fees ,
Just Compensation ,
Land Developers ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Property Improvements ,
Property Owners ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Takings Clause ,
Unconstitutional Condition
On February 29, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2024-01, Preferencing and steering practices by digital intermediaries for consumer financial products or...more
Summary -
Government antitrust enforcers and plaintiffs’ class action lawyers are increasingly focusing on algorithmic pricing software programs used in various sectors of the real estate market. Driving this focus is...more
In a groundbreaking 4-3 decision headed by a 133-page majority opinion, the Colorado Supreme Court held this week that the Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment (the Insurrection Clause) prohibits former President Donald...more
12/22/2023
/ Ballots ,
CO Supreme Court ,
Donald Trump ,
Federal Elections ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Insurrection ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Presidential Elections ,
Primary Elections ,
Statutory Interpretation
Our most recent Alert included details and updates on rent control, proposed FTC regulation of rental housing junk fees, security camera mandates, and new ROFR proposals. Here is a link to the November 15 Alert. Below are...more
12/11/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Landlords ,
Multi-Family Development ,
Price-Fixing ,
Rent ,
Rent Control ,
Rent Stabilization Codes ,
Rental Property ,
Right of First Refusal ,
Tenants
Summary -
The Supreme Court of the United States announced that it will hear a Takings Clause case under the Fifth Amendment that will clarify whether permit exaction fees authorized by legislation are exempt from the...more
10/4/2023
/ Building Permits ,
Certiorari ,
Construction Project ,
Exactions ,
Fees ,
Fifth Amendment ,
George Sheetz v County of El Dorado ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Real Estate Development ,
SCOTUS ,
Sufficient Nexus ,
Takings Clause
Our special guest is Andrew Nigrinis, PhD, who formerly served as Enforcement Economist for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We first discuss what is meant by “dark patterns” and the types of digital practices...more
On June 27 in Moore v. Harper, a 6-3 majority of the United States Supreme Court upheld a state court’s power to invalidate a congressional district map that violates the state’s constitution. In an opinion written by Chief...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last week filed a civil case against Amazon alleging that the company used “manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs known as ‘dark patterns’ to trick consumers into...more
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)—signed into law in 2021—authorizes $1.2 trillion in spending for public works projects, such as highway widenings. Millions of acres of private property will likely be needed...more
Summary -
In Tyler v. Hennepin County, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that a county’s retention of the excess value of a home in a tax sale violated the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The decision, which...more
The consumer financial services industry has become the target of increasing regulatory scrutiny under antitrust laws as well as class action antitrust litigation that challenges industry practices on the grounds that they...more
Regulatory scrutiny and class action litigation relating to the consumer financial services (CFS) industry have typically focused on issues of disclosure, customer privacy, and fees charged to consumers. CFS lawyers are...more
The Township of Canton, Michigan, like many local governments, requires property owners who remove trees of a certain size to either replace those trees or pay into a fund for the planting of new trees. The Sixth Circuit...more
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that private utilities may exercise eminent domain to take state-owned property under the Natural Gas Act (NGA). The decision resolved an issue that could have blocked construction...more
7/1/2021
/ Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity ,
Condemnation ,
Easements ,
Eminent Domain ,
FERC ,
Natural Gas ,
Natural Gas Act ,
PennEast Pipeline Co. v New Jersey ,
Pipelines ,
Right of Way ,
SCOTUS ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
Takings Clause
A ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court this week may have altered the landscape of takings claims by expanding the scope of physical takings. Since the landmark case of Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S....more
6/25/2021
/ Agricultural Workers ,
Cedar Point Nursery v Hassid ,
Farm Workers ,
Farms ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Just Compensation ,
SCOTUS ,
Takings Clause ,
Unions ,
United Farm Workers
On February 3, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in PennEast Pipeline Company, LLC v. New Jersey, a case that could determine whether private gas companies can condemn state-owned property. In this case, a unanimous...more
On Monday, September 14, U.S. District Court Judge William S. Stickman IV became the first federal or state judge in Pennsylvania to strike down Governor Tom Wolf’s emergency orders relating to the COVID-19 pandemic....more
9/16/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dissenting Opinions ,
Due Process ,
Equal Protection ,
First Amendment ,
Governor Wolf ,
PA Supreme Court ,
Police Power ,
Public Gatherings ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
Standard of Review
On July 1, in Wolf v. Scarnati, a divided Supreme Court of Pennsylvania rejected House Resolution 836, in which the Commonwealth’s General Assembly attempted to terminate Governor Tom Wolf’s Proclamation of Disaster...more
Private citizens have separately challenged Governor Tom Wolf’s COVID-19 executive orders as unconstitutional takings in federal district court and in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Learn more about those cases here: Friends...more
Across the country, state and local governments have responded to the coronavirus by limiting in various ways normal activities that were part of everyday life before the outbreak. A battery of lawsuits in state and federal...more
6/4/2020
/ Churches ,
Compelling Governmental Interest ,
Dissenting Opinions ,
Eminent Domain ,
Executive Orders ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Governor Newsom ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Motion for Relief ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
SCOTUS ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
Social Distancing ,
South Bay United Pentecostal Church v Newsom ,
TRO