Come & Take It: The Eminent Domain Podcast (Episode #13), Featuring Winstead Shareholder Tom Forestier
PLI's Pursuing Justice: The Pro Bono Files - Pro Bono and Reparations: The Bruce’s Beach Story
Eminent Domain: First Principles, Kelo, and In Service of Infrastructure Buildout
On-Demand Webinar | Eminent Domain in 2020: A Year in Review
Regulatory Takings and Executive Power to Seize Property
When a municipality acquires private property in an eminent domain case, it must first pay just compensation to the property owner. The municipality must file a complaint—a lawsuit—asking the appropriate court to enter a...more
The Ohio and U.S. Constitutions require that the power of eminent domain can only be exercised when necessary for a public use. In the 2005 case of Kelo v. City of New London, the U.S. Supreme Court took an expansive view...more
Planning and constructing public infrastructure projects takes significant time – sometimes many years. Property owners and businesses who may be impacted are left in a state of limbo, not knowing for sure whether the project...more
Lake Meredith is a reservoir located about 30 miles northeast of Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle. It was formed when the State of Texas built the Sanford Dam on the Canadian River in 1965. When the dam was completed the...more
Periodically, a new public project needs to acquire land that is already put to an existing public use. In order to condemn such land, the condemning entity must demonstrate that the proposed use is either a compatible use or...more
State of Texas. V. Reimer et al. studied lawyer-nerdy questions of standing to bring a lawsuit and statutes of limitations as applied to inverse condemnation suits. Spoiler alert: To the chagrin of the landowners, waiting...more
A central issue going to both the valuation of damages and the extent of a taking in eminent domain cases is whether the government or utility is required to take an entire parcel, beyond just a portion that may be required...more
Every condemnation case in Texas must go through an administrative phase in which disinterested real property owners (who live in the county where the suit is filed) are appointed as Special Commissioners to assess the market...more
It is one of the most common assumptions made by clients in litigation: “If I win, the other side will have to pay my attorney’s fees, right?” Unfortunately, that assumption is often wrong—especially in North Carolina. The...more
Can a public entity be held liable for inverse condemnation when it fails to prevent another party from causing damage to private property? This one is pretty simple: the answer is no....more
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
We previously reported on the recent California Court of Appeal district split as to what standard of review should apply in utility takeover condemnation cases as it pertains to more necessary public use challenges, and...more
In a decision that may reshape how states administer their unclaimed property statutes, the Tenth Circuit held that property owners can pursue takings claims against the Colorado State Treasurer (Treasurer) without exhausting...more
In California, the primary governing structure for condemnation suits is set forth within Title 7 of the California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP 1230.010, et. seq.), otherwise known as the Eminent Domain Act, which was...more
Join us in April for Nossaman's Eminent Domain Seminars! We will be hosting our Northern California seminar in Berkeley on April 8th and our Southern California seminar in Costa Mesa on April 15th. These complimentary...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently announced two important rules in two eminent domain opinions. Both cases involved pipeline access easements that the condemnor properly took under the Natural Gas Act....more
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
In State of Arizona v. Foothills Reserve Master Owners Association, Inc., the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that severance damages are available to landowners when their appurtenant easements are condemned, even if their...more
Navigating a jury trial in an eminent domain case can feel like a high-stakes gamble. The unpredictability and inherent risks make it a daunting process for both litigants and their counsel. That is why it is important to...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
On 7 January 2025, an Inspector confirmed the London Borough of Southwark (Elephant and Castle Town Centre) Compulsory Purchase Order (No.2) 2023 (the "CPO")....more
In a February 7, 2025 decision in Simon v. Sunoco Pipeline LP, No. 2015-3302 (Wash. Cty. February 7, 2025), the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County, Pennsylvania concluded that Sunoco Pipeline LP and Sunoco Logistics...more
When the government exercises its power of eminent domain to take private property for public use, the U.S. Constitution requires it to provide “just compensation” to the property owner. But what does “just compensation”...more