The federal government has been delegated authority to exercise eminent domain to acquire both real and personal property, including the right to take immediate possession of that property, through the Stafford Act, which...more
In Knick v Scott, SCOTUS overruled precedent requiring property owners asserting takings by state or local government to exhaust state court remedies before seeking relief in the federal courts....more
7/1/2019
/ 42 U.S.C. §1983 ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Just Compensation ,
Knick v Township of Scott Pennsylvania ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Property Owners ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
State Law Remedies ,
Takings Clause
In a published decision, the Court of Appeals dismissed a condemnation for lack of jurisdiction because the agency failed to make a proper good faith offer that included all owners.
This week, the Michigan Court of Appeals...more
Let’s face it. Sometimes right of way agents can be sleazy. Here are some tactics to avoid.
I open this post with a disclaimer. All types of people can be confronted with a condemnation project. Their experience with legal...more
ITC is adding a new phase to its Coldwater Capital Project, impacting area farmers.
This post describes ITC’s capital project. I have learned that ITC is seeking to expand the project and take easements from agricultural...more
Consumers Power has filed multiple lawsuits using eminent domain.
I previously wrote Consumers Energy to Reconstruct Line 2800 Pipeline, a 24" Natural Gas Pipeline describing a new pipeline being constructed by Consumers....more
ITC seeking more new vegetation management easements in Washington Township.
I am currently representing 25 property owners in the Breckenridge Subdivision, houses on Yorkshire and Berkshire in Washington Township. These...more
The owners of the existing Ambassador Bridge lost one of their many arguments in Wayne County Circuit Court.
The owners of the Ambassador Bridge, entities controlled by the Maroun family, have raised many objections to the...more
To the extent that an ordinance in ambiguous, it must be interpreted in favor of the property owner.
I recently overturned an adverse decision against a client by the Webster Township Zoning Board of Appeals. In that...more
A city ordinance cannot give the city powers beyond those delegated to it by its citizens in its charter.
I recently obtained an injunction against the City of Royal Oak preventing it from compelling property owners to pay...more
The Wastenaw County Circuit Court overturned an adverse decision by the Webster Township Zoning Board of Appeals, determining that seasonal barn weddings are a permitted use in the Agricultural zoning classification.
I...more
As I have described in many past blog posts, ITC is engaging in a systematic campaign to increase its vegetation management rights throughout its entire Michigan transmission line system. I have handled the majority of the...more
My colleague Kenneth Lane and I have been retained by a significant group of homeowners in Royal Oak. The City sent letters demanding that the property owners either install or pay for the City to install sidewalks in front...more
Detroit Land Bank Program converts occupants into the owners of foreclosed or otherwise abandoned properties.
Fair is fair. This blog often points out abuses of property owners by government agencies and utilities. But it...more
ITC is continuing its program of expanding existing vegetation management rights in Livonia.
ITC is moving its vegetation management program into new territory. I have represented property owners from whom ITC obtained...more
The Supreme Court of the United States applied a multi-factor test to rule that a regulation prohibiting construction on an undersized lot contiguous to a second lot under common ownership was not a taking.
In the broadest...more
6/26/2017
/ Common Ownership ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Just Compensation ,
Land Parcels ,
Murr v Wisconsin ,
Property Owners ,
Reasonable Expectations Test ,
Regulatory Takings ,
SCOTUS ,
Takings Clause ,
Zoning Laws
ET Rover’s pipeline construction activities in Ohio for the same pipeline that is being built in Lenawee and Washtenaw Counties in Michigan result in multiple environmental and other violations, leaving some to believe that...more
ITC’s filing of numerous condemnation lawsuits was the subject of press coverage by the Macomb Daily and WXYZ Television.
I have discussed my representation of a large ownership group being impacted by ITC’s takings that...more
Rover has initiated one mass filing against all property owners in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan.
Rover Pipeline has been acquiring property rights in Washtenaw and Lenawee Counties....more
ITC has filed multiple condemnations in Macomb County Circuit Court seeking expanded vegetation management easements.
I previously detailed ITC issuing good faith offers as a prelude to filling new condemnations seeking...more
ITC is seeking expanded vegetation management rights from property owners in Washington Township.
ITC has issued numerous good faith offers to property owners in Washington Township. The offers, which are being received...more
Notwithstanding Maroun Court of Claims lawsuit attacking propriety of the Gordie Howe Bridge Project, the MDOT has filed dozens of new condemnations including against Maroun entities.
On Friday, I posted a blog...more
In return for dropping a necessity challenge, Wolverine Pipeline agreed to substantially modified easement and paid the attorney fees incurred in pursuing the challenge.
As I have previously noted, greater flexibility...more
Companies controlled by Mannie Maroun, who owns the Ambassador Bridge, have filed a lawsuit seeking to block MDOT condemnations to acquire property for the Gordie Howe Bridge.
Mannie Maroun has spent years attempting to...more
The Michigan Legislature addressed lack of clarity in dower rights caused by the United States Supreme Court’s recognition of same sex marriage by eliminating it altogether.
Generally speaking, dower rights allow a widow...more