OCA Blog
July 19th, 2011 — In News & Events
St. Louis property owner retains his 1st Amendment right to protest eminent domain abuse
Last week the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a property owner's First Amendment right to protest the abusive eminent domain policies of the City of St. Louis. The case concerns a St. Louis property owner, Jim Roods, who opposed the city’s definition of blight and condemnation of his housing agency's private property for private redevelopment.
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July 18th, 2011 — In News & Events
New Cert Petition filed with SCOTUS: Post Kelo when is condemnation pretextual?
On July 14, 2011, our colleagues* at Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert in Honolulu, Hawaii filed a cert petition (see below) asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision in County of Hawaii v. C&J Coupe Family Ltd. P'ship, 242 P.3d 1136 (Haw. 2010)
Read More July 17th, 2011 — By Michael Rikon, CRE — In Articles
“Moving the Cat into the Hat: The Pursuit of Fairness in Condemnation, or, Whatever Happened to Creating a Partnership of Planning?” by Michael Rikon (New York)
In this 2011 article, Mr. Rikon criticizes Article 2 of New York's Eminent Domain Procedure Law (EDPL), the procedure used to approve and challenge condemnation.
Read More July 5th, 2011 — In News & Events
A personal invitation from Dean Douglas to attend the Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference in Beijing
What: The 8th Annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference Where: Tsinghua University School of Law, Beijing, China
Read More June 17th, 2011 — By Hertha L. Lund — In Articles
“Kelo in the Country…HB198 and the taking of rural property” by Hertha Lund (Montana)
This article argues against Montana House Bill 198 that seeks to grant the power of eminent domain to a Canadian power company in order for that company to acquire private property throughout Montana for the purposes of constructing a private (for profit) "merchant" transmission line.
Read More June 16th, 2011 — In News & Events
Battle for Brooklyn opens in NYC this weekend
The documentary Battle for Brooklyn opens this Friday, June 17th, at Cinema Village in Manhattan and at indieScreen in Brooklyn. The film Battle for Brooklyn captures a community's seven-year fight to stop the use of eminent domain to take their homes and businesses for the construction of a mixed-use development including a basketball arena for the New Jersey Nets and commercial towers.
Read More June 7th, 2011 — In News & Events
Michigan eminent domain attorney, Darius Dynkowski, discusses the Detroit-Windsor Bridge project
In this interview with Dbusiness Magazine, attorney Darius Dynkowski* discusses the procedures and laws of eminent domain with respect to the proposed New International Trade Crossing, also known as the Detroit-Windsor Bridge. He explains what residents and business owners in the footprint of the project site can expect if and when the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) begins acquiring property for this proposed project.
Read More May 10th, 2011 — In News & Events
Montana’s eminent domain bill HB 198 becomes law without Governor’s amendment
On Thursday, May 12, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer allowed Montana House Bill 198 (HB 198) concerning eminent domain to become law. Despite the imbalanced aspects within HB 198 favoring big business over landowners' rights, Gov. Schweitzer chose to not veto the bill allowing it to become law.
Read More April 15th, 2011 — In News & Events
Owner awarded approx. $25M for condemnation of private property in Harrison, NJ
In a recent arbitration, a panel of arbitrators awarded property owner, Harrison Eagle, LLP nearly $25 million for the taking of approximately 10 acres of property adjacent to the PATH commuter rail station and proximate to the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. The town's redevelopment agency used the power of eminent domain to take the private property and convey it to a private redeveloper and as such the...
Read More April 13th, 2011 — In News & Events
Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2011
Yesterday, Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Maxine Waters (D-CA) introduced H.R. 1433, the "Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2011." This bipartisan bill prohibits states and municipalities from using eminent domain for private development if they have received federal economic development funds. H.R. 1433 also prohibits the federal government from using eminent domain for economic development, the taking of private property and transferring of it to another private entity...
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