OCA Blog
May 11th, 2010 — In News & Events
Where does SCOTUS nominee Elena Kagan stand on property rights?
Everyone is talking about President Obama's announcement that he has nominated Elena Kagan to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court. Likewise, everyone is talking about Ms. Kagan - her credentials, her experience, and her philosophies (or, at least the lack of knowledge of her personal views and philosophies).
Read MoreMay 6th, 2010 — In News & Events
Homeowners stand ground against eminent domain
Property is more than a piece of land for those who have worked their entire lives to make a comfortable home. What happens when the government says they need it?
Read MoreMay 1st, 2010 — In News & Events
Update: Amici brief filed in SCOTUS “undivided fee rule” eminent domain case
Yesterday, the National Association for Home Builders together with the Wisconsin Building Association filed a brief amici curiae in support of the VFW in the City of Milwaukee Post No. 2874 Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States v. Redevelopment Agency of the City of Milwaukee, No. 09-1204 (cert. petition filed Apr. 2, 2010).
Read MoreApril 23rd, 2010 — In News & Events
Goldstein – no longer the last man standing in the way of Atlantic Yards eminent domain
On Wednesday, April 21, one of the last remaining property owners opposing the proposed Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, Daniel Goldstein, reached a negotiated settlement with the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) and project's developer, Forest City Ratner, to leave his home.
Read MoreApril 14th, 2010 — In News & Events
“Most condemned property in America” in court today
Last month we posted "Virginia farm may be 'most condemned property in America'" about Edd Jennings and his family's 300 acres farm that has been condemned for easements and other public uses by state agencies and utility companies on 10 different occassions since the 1970s.
Read MoreApril 8th, 2010 — In News & Events
Cert petition filed for SCOTUS review of the “Undivided Fee Rule” in eminent domain
A new Petition for Writ of Certiorari has been filed with the United States Supreme Court requesting review of a Wisconsin eminent domain case, City of Milwaukee Post No. 2874 Veterans of Foreign Wars v. Redevelopment Agency, 768 N.W.2d 749 (Wis. 2009), in which the application of the "undivided fee rule" (also referred to as the "unit rule") resulted in the award of $0 as "just compensation." (SCOTUS Docket...
Read MoreApril 7th, 2010 — In News & Events
NY judge orders Port Chester to pay $3 million for property taken by eminent domain
On Friday, New York State Supreme Court Judge John R. LaCava issued an opinion in the eminent domain case known as In Re Matter of Village of Port Chester v. Village of Port Chester, 2010 NY Slip Op 50532(U), Supreme Court, Westchester County (Decided April 2, 2010), ordering the Village of Port Chester to pay the property owners $3,062,000.00, plus interest, for the taking of their commercial properties....
Read MoreMarch 31st, 2010 — In News & Events
Judge ruled anti-eminent domain mural on St. Louis building must come down
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey ruled that a mural reading - "End Eminent Domain Abuse" (pictured above, image from KMOX News, St. Louis, MO) - which Jim Roos commissioned to be painted on the side of a brick apartment building owned by his housing agency is not art, violates the city's sign code and must come down. The city's sign ordinance requires signage to be no...
Read MoreMarch 29th, 2010 — In News & Events
Determining fair market value in a lean economy
One of the great challenges in a recessionary cycle is reconciling the apparent contradiction between property values disproportionately impacted by the short-term realities of a lean marketplace and a more balanced and nuanced assessment of long-term value. In a condemnation setting, the legal, practical and logistical difficulties of assessing value in a way that is fair and reasonable becomes particularly problematic.
Read MoreMarch 24th, 2010 — In News & Events
Idaho Supreme Court upholds jury verdict in favor of property owners in eminent domain case
Last week, the Idaho Supreme Court in State v. Canyon Vista Limited Family Partnership, et al., Docket No. 34485, Opinion No. 26 (March 17, 2010) upheld a jury verdict awarding approximately $3.3 million as just compensation for property taken to widen a road in Twin Falls, ID.
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