Come & Take It: The Eminent Domain Podcast (Episode #13), Featuring Winstead Shareholder Tom Forestier
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
Under the Subdivision Map Act, the creation of legal parcels prior to 1972 requires more than a deed referencing multiple lots—only a conveyance that separates a portion of land from contiguous property creates a new legal...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
Tune in to the latest episode of "Come and Take It: The Eminent Domain Podcast." Host Bobby Debelak sits down with Winstead Shareholder Thomas J. Forestier, a leading infrastructure and eminent domain attorney with 37+ years...more
In a July 17, 2024 Opinion, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided in AUUE, Inc. v. Borough of Jefferson Hills Zoning Hearing Board, No. 28 WAP 2022, ___ A.3d ___ (Pa. 2024), that the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code...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
A troubling and confusing issue here in Pennsylvania concerns the ownership of oil and gas rights under roads and highways. For example, let’s assume Farmer Joe owned 115 acres in Greene County. In 1981, Farmer Joe sells...more
In California, a fundamental principle of eminent domain law is that an owner of property acquired by eminent domain is entitled to just compensation for the property interests taken (Code Civ. Proc. §1263.010)....more
Mediante la Resolución 1040 de 2023, el Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi (IGAC) estableció una serie de medidas que determinarán en el futuro la forma en que se maneja la información catastral en Colombia y los mecanismos...more
As we have previously discussed, downzoning (changing the zoning designation for property from a more intensive use to a more restrictive use) can possibly rise to the level of a regulatory taking, depending on each...more
A trespass by way of encroachment occurs when a building, structure, or other “thing” (as opposed to person or animal), goes beyond the boundaries of the owner’s land onto adjoining land without the permission or consent of...more
[Updated] The North Dakota Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Thursday to consider who owns the right to the porous spaces within subsurface rock formations. The issue is over Senate Bill 2344, passed by the...more
The Takings Clause of the U.S. Constitution prohibits the government from depriving an owner of private property for public use without “just compensation.” Governmental action burdening private property does not always...more
The facts at issue in Elpa Builders, Inc. v. State of New York are relatively straightforward. The property owner (the “Owner”) owned a 53,645-square-foot parcel of property (the “Property”) along New York State Route 347...more
A recent Second Department decision, Matter of Reddock v New York State Dept. of Envtl. Conservation, highlights a unique procedural quirk involving Article 78 proceedings where the challenge is based upon “substantial...more
While Ohio law presumes that all real estate is taxable, hospitals can achieve substantial tax savings by seeking exemption from real property taxation for property they own and use to provide health care services pursuant to...more
If someone’s land is compulsorily acquired to deliver a public benefit, it is accepted that they should receive fair compensation. But what that “fair compensation” equates to, is far from straight forward....more
When a local government agency impermissibly “spot zones” a property, thereby depriving it of all economically beneficial uses, can the property owner seek to invalidate that zoning decision, or is the owner left with a claim...more
The merger doctrine is alive and well in Massachusetts zoning law. In its recent decision in Kneer v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Norfolk, the Appeals Court examined whether the doctrine applies to property owned by a realty...more
Each parcel of real property is a unique asset. It is typically well understood that location is paramount, and that size, elevation, and other physical characteristics are other important factors. Nonetheless, there are...more
Signaling a possible sea change in takings law, the United States Supreme Court has accepted for review the Third Circuit’s decision in Rose Mary Knick v. Scott Township, Pennsylvania, 862 F.3d 310 (3d Cir. 2017), cert....more
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition to hear a developer’s case against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection over a permit denial for a beachfront parcel. The case relates to a DEP denial of a final permit...more
Last week we wrote about a United States Supreme Court case Murr v. Wisconsin and its impact locally. Since that post, the Petitioner, Donna Murr contacted the author to provide us with an update to her family’s situation....more
The stakes could not be higher; would the property yield one or two waterfront building lots? On June 23, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States decided a case that involved the merger of two parcels of property...more
Early last summer the U.S. Supreme Court released its long-awaited, and deeply flawed decision in Murr v. Wisconsin, __ U.S. __ (2017). We wrote about this unfortunate new takings case here and in “Missed Opportunity In...more