OCA Blog

November 18th, 2019 — In Uncategorized

Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation 2020

American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education (ALI CLE) has announced that Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation 2020 will be held on January 23-25, 2020 in Nashville, TN. The only CLE event for eminent domain practitioners with a national focus and reach, this conference features new topics, customizable content, and valuable networking opportunities, all in the heart of Music City. Many OCA members will be in attendance, both as...

Read More

Sharing is caring!

September 27th, 2019 — In News & Events

Homeowner Gets $380K After NJ Tried to Take Half His Oceanfront Property for Just $750

A New Jersey homeowner has been awarded $380,000 for the taking of part of his property for a storm protection project after being offered $750 for the same property by the State. In a trial that ended Thursday, Kevin Klingert was awarded the money for the loss of about half his oceanfront property in Brick Township. OCA Member attorney Anthony Della Pelle says about 75 similar cases remain pending...

Read More

Sharing is caring!

September 23rd, 2019 — In Uncategorized

OCA Files Amicus Brief in North Carolina Map Act Case

Many will recall the infamous Map Act that was adopted in North Carolina during the 1990’s. As a result the North Carolina Department of Transporation (NCDOT) recorded corridor maps that restricted the use of property in the path of several future road projects similar to negative easements. Although the North Carolina General Assembly repealed the maps in 2016, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that these restrictions amounted to...

Read More

Sharing is caring!

August 27th, 2019 — In Uncategorized

No Severance Damages for You, You Have a Special Benefit by OCA Member Mike Rikon

In his Condemnation and Tax Certiorari column, OCA New York Member Michael Rikon discusses partial acquisitions in condemnation cases and writes: “Within the area of consequential damages, we must explore, not only the loss in value suered by the remaining property, but the possible benefits to that remainder which are the result of the improvement for which the part taken was acquired. To further complicate things, the question arises,...

Read More

Sharing is caring!

August 23rd, 2019 — In Uncategorized

Nebraska Supreme Court Rules on Transcanada’s XL Pipeline Route by William Blake

The Nebraska Supreme Court has affirmed the decision of the Nebraska Public Service Commission’s (PSC) to approve a route through Nebraska for the XL Pipeline, completing one of the final steps before construction of the controversial project can begin. A copy of the full decision can be read here. The project plan is to bury a 36-inch crude oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada to Southern Nebraska. First announced in...

Read More

Sharing is caring!

August 8th, 2019 — In Uncategorized

Amicus Brief: State Takings Claims Are Constitutional (Not Torts) in Applying Applicable Statute of Limitations

OCA has asked leave to file an Amicus Brief in the case of DW Aina Lea Development vs. State of Hawaii Land Use, currently before the Hawaii Supreme Court.  The Brief, authored by OCA Member Robert Thomas, can be read in full here. The question presented before the Hawaii Supreme Court is the applicable statute of limitations for regulatory takings claims under the Hawaii Constitution’s “takings or damagings” clause....

Read More

Sharing is caring!

July 23rd, 2019 — In Uncategorized

Upcoming Webinar – Knick Picking Regulatory Takings: Did the Court Right a Wrong, or Wrong a Right?

On Friday, July 26th from 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET the Land Use Committee of the ABA’s Section of State and Local Government Law is sponsoring a free (for Section members) informal webinar about the latest in takings law:Knick Picking Regulatory Takings: Did the Court Right a Wrong, or Wrong a Right? OCA presenters Dwight Merriam (featured to the left) and Robert Thomas (featured below) will discuss reaction...

Read More

Sharing is caring!

July 23rd, 2019 — In Uncategorized

Knick v. Township of Scott, Pennsylvania: Federal Courthouse Doors Now Open to Taking Claimants by OCA Member James Masterman

On June 21, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts “restor takings claims to the full-fledged constitutional status the Framers envisioned when they included the Clause among the other protections in the Bill of Rights.”Knick v. Township of Scott, 139 S. Ct. 2162 (2019). The Fifth Amendment’s “nor shall private property be taken without just compensation” is the clause Chief...

Read More

Sharing is caring!

July 18th, 2019 — In Uncategorized

The Nasty, Brutish, and Short Life of Agins v. City of Tiburon

By OCA Members Gideon Kanner and Michael Berger IF THE DUKE OF YORK’S MEN THOUGHT they were being made to perform useless, repetitive tasks to no worthwhile end, they were in about the same condition as the American lawyers who were practicing tak- ings law in the 1970s and 1980s. During that period of time, hordes of lawyers representing the competing sides in regulatory taking cases were sent, figuratively,...

Read More

Sharing is caring!

June 28th, 2019 — In Uncategorized

Changes Ahead For Property Owners: After More Than 30 Years, Supreme Court Reopens Federal Courthouse Door To Property Rights Claims

OCA Member Robert Thomas seeks to alert all property owners in his recent posting on the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision in Knick v. Township of Scott: Heads up, property owners: last week the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling changing the way property rights lawsuits have been handled for the last thirty years. In Knick v. Township of Scott, the Court allowed property...

Read More

Sharing is caring!