Condemning agencies contemplating the use of eminent domain at times hire third-party acquisition agents to purchase properties ahead of an incoming infrastructure project without the provision of written good faith offers....more
You received a notice of intent or an offer to acquire your property from the government or a private company seeking to take your property. You probably have a lot of questions. Read on for answers to common questions and...more
In Colorado, eminent domain (also known as condemnation) proceedings take place in several phases. These proceedings are similar to, but not the same as, other civil trials. Few attorneys — let alone property owners — have...more
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
The Arizona Court of Appeals recently held that members of a homeowners’ association are not entitled to severance damages to their residential parcels when common areas are condemned....more
In my last blog, I wrote about the shortcomings of compensating displaced property owners based on the ‘objective’ standard of the market value of their property. That standard ignores the owners’ ‘subjective’ losses, such...more
When we take on an eminent domain case, our primary goal is to put our client in the best position possible. In some cases, that means fighting the taking itself, as my dad (and boss) did in the well-known Wayne County v....more
A California Court of Appeal held that CEQA’s issue exhaustion requirement did not preclude a challenge to Inyo County’s exemption determinations for condemnation proceedings and expanded operation of unlined landfills...more
In an eminent domain proceeding, the property owner and the condemning agency each typically introduce evidence of just compensation through valuation experts. The jury is then required to render a verdict in between the...more
Courts have historically been reluctant to look behind a condemnor’s stated purpose for taking property but, in City of Lafayette v. Town of Erie, a Colorado trial court decided to lift that curtain. When it realized...more
Early this year, the Supreme Court of New York, Richmond County issued a comprehensive opinion in Galarza v. City of New York, 58 Misc.3d 1210(A), reaffirming and clarifying the nuances of condemnation, takings and just...more
Fire Island is a 32-mile long, slender barrier sand bar island located between the Atlantic Ocean and the South Shore of Long Island. The island, which varies in width from as little as about 550 feet to not more than about...more
The Virginia Supreme Court issued a number of opinions this Spring and Summer in recent terms. Its work resulted in several opinions affecting Virginia local (and state) government law, in the areas of Virginia...more
The Virginia Supreme Court issued new opinions this morning, some of which affect local government law. Here they are (summaries taken from the Virginia Supreme Court website): PKO Ventures, LLC v. Norfolk Redev’t &...more