Monthly Archives: February 2018

February 28th, 2018 — In Articles

Five New Orleans stores to receive $2.1M from Major Drainage Project

Owners’ Counsel of America Member Randall Smith represented several landowners who filed damage claims arising from a sewage and sanitation project in New Orleans. After several years of litigation, the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board has agreed to pay five Uptown stores a total of $2.125 million for physical damages and the loss of business caused by major drainage work done on Jefferson Avenue in recent years. The settlement, finalized Monday, comes as the S&WB is preparing for trial in a case brought by 275 plaintiffs who allege their homes also were damaged by work on the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, usually referred to as SELA. Langenstein’s, Discount Corner, Prytania Liquor Store, Prytania Mail Service and British Antiques are among the first plaintiffs to settle claims against the S&WB for damage from the work that turned Jefferson, Napoleon and Louisiana avenues into construction zones for years The five businesses suffered structural damage, including cracks in their buildings and problems with their foundations, and saw their business drop off because the construction limited access to their locations, said Randy Smith, an attorney representing the stores. “At the end of the day, the S&WB and its lawyers stepped up and did what was right,” Smith said.

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February 13th, 2018 — In News & Events

Owners’ Counsel of America Elects Joshua E. Baker as Virginia Representative

Owners’ Counsel of American (OCA) is pleased to announce the selection of Joshua E. Baker of the firm of Waldo & Lyle as the Primary OCA Representative for the State of Virginia. After an extended vetting process, Owners’ Counsel of America limits its membership to but one eminent domain attorney from each of the 50 states. The Virginia seat was previously occupied by Joseph T. Waldo who has been elected to Emeritus Status. Baker, who has been practicing for 12 years, is well-known throughout Virginia, not only for his representation of private property owners, but also as a grassroots advocate for property rights reforms. In addition to his robust eminent domain practice, Baker is called every year to testify at hearings on private property rights issues before the Virginia General Assembly or to assist in the drafting of eminent domain legislation. His expertise and reputation have helped defeat measures that would limit owners’ rights in condemnation cases, and pass reforms strengthening them. Baker also played a leadership role in the drafting and advocacy of Virginia’s 2012 enactment of a constitutional amendment prohibiting the use of eminent domain for economic development. Like many OCA members, Baker limits his practice exclusively to the representation of private property owners facing the loss of or damage to their property through condemnation, inverse condemnation and regulatory takings. In 2017, Baker resolved over 40 different property rights disputes with just compensation payments ranging from several thousand dollars to several hundred thousands of dollars.

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February 8th, 2018 — In Uncategorized

This Is Not A Taking for Affordable Housing According To Landowners’ Attorney

Richard De Angelis, with the law firm of McKirdy, Riskin, Olson, and DellaPelle (where OCA Member Tony DellaPelle also practices) is currently representing private landowners in New Jersey who are asserting that their property is being taken for private redevelopment purposes disguised as an affordable housing project. The borough’s claim that it can seize four downtown properties in the name of affordable housing is nothing more than a “whitewash” to help a for-profit development move forward, argues Mr. Angelis. The response was sparked by the Borough Council’s passage of an ordinance allowing it to take the lots via eminent domain, if the property owners do not agree to sell.

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February 6th, 2018 — In News & Events

2018 Crystal Eagle Award Winner Luis Gallardo-Rivera

Owners’ Counsel of America (OCA) announces that it has presented its highest honor, the Crystal Eagle Award, to Luis Gallardo-Rivera of Puerto Rico, a person who has consistently demonstrated his passion and commitment to the protection of private property rights in his native country of Puerto Rico. Working with other dedicated citizens who believe that the residential communities of Puerto Rico need not be sacrificed in the name of economic and private redevelopment projects, Luis Gallardo-Rivera has fought diligently to transform and modernize Puerto Rico’s eminent domain laws. In 2012, as a student in the pro bono clinic of the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, Luis and others worked closely with Professor Maria Hernandez to draft municipal ordinances designed to curb expropriation abuses at the local level. Later, under the mentorship of Professor Adi Martinez, Luis participated in the investigation and legal filings that led to the Supreme Court’s decision in Guaynabo vs. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, finding that the rights of hundreds of families living in the community of Vietnam had been violated by their unlawful displacement. Later, in 2015 Luis was instrumental in drafting and lobbying for the passage of House Bill 2321, a major piece of legislation designed to update and transform the eminent domain laws of Puerto Rico in order provide private landowners faced with the taking of their property greater legal protections and due process safeguards. Although House Bill 2321 was tabled without being acted upon, the hard work of Luis and other dedicated individuals brought public and media attention to the critical […]

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