Yearly Archives: 2023

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion authored by Chief Justice Roberts in the case of Tyler vs. Hennepin County. The opinion holds that Hennepin County’s seizing of GeraldineTyler’s condo to satisfy a $15,000 tax debt and then retaining all excess funds was a taking. This important property rights case was won by the Pacific Legal Foundation and the dedicated lawyers that worked so tireless to bring it about. To read this decision in its entirety click here. We congratulate them!

Owners’ Counsel of America, along with four other national property rights groups recently filed an Amicus Brief challenging the U.S. government’s request to revisit a property owners’ takings claim based on the Trails Act. The groups’ brief noted that several of the court’s rulings dating back two decades established a clear precedent on the matter which the government was clearly seeking to overturn. Established precedent holds that the Trails Act gives rise to a per se physical taking (not a regulatory taking) of a landowner’s private property when the government first invokes section 8(d) of the Trails Act. See Preseault v. Interstate Commerce Comm’n, 494 U.S. 1, 8 (1990) (Preseault I) (The Trails Act “gives rise to a takings question in the typical rails-to-trails case because many railroads do not own their rights-of- way outright but rather hold them under easements or similar property interests.”) and Preseault v. United States, 100 F.3d 1525, 1550 (Fed. Cir. 1996) (en banc) (Preseault II) (Trails Act imposes “a new easement for the new use, constituting a physical taking of the right of exclusive possession that belonged to the [landowners].”).Following the filing of the all briefs, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied the government’s Petition for Rehearing. The property owners were represented by OCA members Thor Hearne and Stephen Davis.

A North Carolina jury awarded a property owner $5,084,000 earlier this week for the taking of his partially redeveloped hotel. Amar Patel was represented by the Cranfill Sumner LLP attorneys George Autry and Jeremy Hopkins, who are also members of Owners’ Counsel of America. The trial lasted six days with the jury ultimately deliberating for approximately 50 minutes. The department initially offered Mr. Patel $244,825 for the partial taking of his property located at the intersection of I-95 and Spring Branch Road in Dunn. At the trial, the property owner presented evidence from two appraisers suggesting damage in the range of $4,916,209 to $5,251,000. “Mr. Patel spent years buying and renovating his property,” says OCA member George Autry. “It is gratifying to have the jury validate that hard work and recognize the damage the Department of Transportation project will have on it.”  “This was about getting Mr. Patel fair value,” added Jeremy Hopkins.

Geraldine Tyler, age 94, owed Hennepin County $2,300 in unpaid property taxes on her Minnesota condominium. When that small amount ultimately generated $12,700 in fees, the County seized her condo and sold it to pay the taxes and fees. By the time the condo was sold for $40,000, Tyler’s total debt came to $15,000. But the county did not return the excess $25,000 to Tyler. Instead, it pocketed the excess equity in her home. When Tyler sued the county to get the $25,000 back, the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that a Minnesota tax statute “abrogated” her property right in her home equity.  Now the Supreme Court has taken Tyler’s case, and the Cato Institute, joined by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Minnesota, the National Association of Home Builders, and Owners’ Counsel of America has filed an amicus brief supporting her position. Click here if you would like to view this brief.

In his recent article written for the New York Law Journal and entitled ‘Urban Renewal, An Assault on Black Neighborhoods,” OCA member Mike Rikon speaks of  how interstate highways, many of which were built to serve white suburban commuters, “were shoved through black neighborhoods, causing surrounding blight and pollution.” Mr. Rikon says these actions were fueled by the Federal Housing Act of 1949, which authorized cities to use eminent domain to clear “blighted neighborhoods” for a “higher use.” To read Mr. Rikon’s excellent article in its entirety click here.

OCA’s Iowa Member, Dan Manning, is now representing several property owners in Cedar Rapids who are losing their homes because of past floods and fears about future flooding in their neighborhood near the riverfront area. Calling the takings “above and beyond” the usual scenario, Dan Manning explained the difficulty his clients faced in finding replacement property. “These are their homes, they’ve been there and they’re very unique in their own way,” said Manning. Across the country, many private property owners are facing the same challenges and possibility of being forced to relocate due to climate impacts. To read more about this story click here. 

At Owners’ Counsel of America’s Annual Dinner in Austin, TX, the Crystal Eagle was awarded jointly to two extraordinary women. Sonia Eaddy is a homeowner and community activist, and Nicole King is an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County. The award was given in recognition of their tireless efforts to save the historic black neighborhood of Poppleton, an area in west Baltimore that has been all but eradicated in order to make way for what many have described as an ill-conceived, poorly planned, and largely failed urban renewal project. Read more about what they were able to accomplish in this Press Release.

Owners’ Counsel of America is pleased to announce the selection of two new Primary Members. Derrick Braaten from North Dakota is the owner of Braaten Law Firm and Kim Ellis Ritchie from Oklahoma is the owner and founder of Ritchie, Rock & Atwood. Both men practice in the areas of business, agricultural, and real estate law, with a heavy emphasis on eminent domain cases, predominantly (if not exclusively) on behalf of private property owners. Kim Ritchie also focuses on civil litigation, having tried over 75 jury trials over the course of his career “We are thrilled to have such outstanding lawyers join our ranks,” says OCA’s Executive Director Leslie Fields. “These are both states where we have not previously had OCA representation because we were waiting to find the perfect candidates—lawyers that would measure up to our high standards of excellence, experience and dedication to the representation of private property owners.” 

Owners’ Counsel of America is pleased to announce that Shelly Vallone, a third year law student attending William & Mary Law School, has received the Toby Prince Brigham OCA Scholarship for 2023. “Shelly received a glowing recommendation from Robert Thomas, her Property Rights professor at William & Mary,” says OCA Executive Director, Leslie Fields. The Scholarship was created to honor OCA’s founder, Toby Prince Brigham. It is designed to inspire the next generation of lawyers to take up the cause of protecting and defending private property rights. For more information about the scholarship visit OCA’s website at ownerscounsel.com