Monthly Archives: May 2021

The Bayou Bridge Pipeline company must pay owners their attorneys fees after they prevailed in obtaining compensation awards based on the company commencing  work on their lands before getting legal permission, the Louisiana Supreme Court recently ruled. The seven justices agreed that Louisiana’s 1974 Constitution allows attorneys’ fees and litigation costs as part of the just compensation to landowners who win eminent domain proceedings. The company had argued that it was not subject to payment of the owners’ attorney fees under state statutes, but the Supreme Court determined that the constitutional provision made them liable. Click here to read the court’s opinion.

OCA member, Stephen Clarke’s representation of owners James and Kathy Chandler, resulted in a jury verdict of $430,000 against the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s taking of their “slice of heaven” atop Bent Mountain. The pipeline company had previously offered them $89,343 for their property. After a trial on value, the jury agreed with the property owner that the construction of the 42-inch diameter natural gas pipeline would cause damages to the their 111-acre property by bisecting it and passing about 500 feet from their custom-built home. Commenting on the verdict, Stephen Clarke stated that “There’s a huge gap that cuts through the heart of their land, 125 feet wide and half a mile long.” In testifying before the jury, owner James Chandler told them that even though the pipeline would be buried, it will always be “a visual reminder. Nothing will be normal.” Stephen Clark is with the law firm of Waldo & Lyle.

A San Bernardino Superior Court judge ruled recently against the Town of Apple Valley in its attempt to take over its largest supplier of water, Liberty Utilities. The water provider is represented by OCA member, Ed Burg who practices out of Los Angeles with the law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.  In a preliminary ruling issued after an extensive bench trial, Judge Donald Alvarez found that Liberty Utilities had “disproved” the town’s arguments that its acquisition of the company’s water system would be in the public’s interest and a necessity. The ruling comes after a lengthy effort by Apple Valley to acquire the water system that has been ongoing since 2011. The town filed its eminent domain lawsuit in January 2016 when the system was owned by Ranchos Water Company. A copy of the Judge’s ruling can be view on the Town’s website. 

OCA’s New York Member Mike Rikon’s recent blog posts takes on some of the tricky issues that have surfaced in valuing property during a pandemic. According to Mike, Covid-19’s impact on real estate valuations have made it difficult to apply the comparable sales approach, one of the often used methods for determining real estate values, particularly in eminent domain cases. Referring to statements made by real estate professionals like Lisa Loychik of Cohen & Co., the article suggests that it is debatable whether pre-Covid-19 sales can be considered comparable with post-pandemic sales. Thus, many valuators are looking beyond comparable sales and considering individual circumstances on a more granular level.  This approach acknowledges that generalities are of limited value when Covid-19 may have different effects on different properties in the same neighborhood. To learn more about this issue, you an read Mike’s article in its entirety here.