OCA Blog

In an opinion just released by the Virginia Supreme Court involving OCA members Joshua Baker and Joe Waldo titled Johnson v. City of Suffolk, the court ruled that Virginia oystermen did not present a viable takings claim to obtain compensation when the City of Suffolk and its Sanitation District dumped raw sewage into the Nansemond river and declared a “condemnation zone” (i.e., no oyster harvesting). Specifically, the court concluded that the...

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In recognizing Dwight Merriam for its first annual New England Trailblazers publication last year, Connecticut Law Tribune called the four-decade legal veteran “a major figure in American planning law.” Based in Weatogue, CT, Merriam represents land owners, developers, governments, and individuals in land use matters. The Connecticut Law Tribune says Merriam is “one of just a handful of nationally-recognized true planner-lawyers, fully credentialed in both professions.” It was Merriam’s desire...

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After the Virginia General Assembly passed House Bill 831 authorizing utility companies to use existing “easements for the location and use of electric and communications facilities,” OCA’s Virginia member, Joshua Baker, filed suit, asserting that the law amounts to an unconstitutional taking of property rights without compensation and a denial of due process. Mr. Baker seeks a repeal of the legislation as part of the lawsuit. Mr. Baker explains that the property owners...

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Since the beginning of the pandemic we have seen Governors and State Legislatures across the country implement  an array of policies in an attempt to contain the virus and its socioeconomic impacts. Many of these policies effectively broadened the scope of government power while placing a heavy burden on property owners and businesses already struggling during the COVID 19 pandemic.  Jim Burling from Pacific Legal Foundation and Robert Thomas...

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For those who could not attend this year’s Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference on October 1-2 at William & Mary Law School, a link to the panels, speakers and recorded sessions can be found on OCA Member Robert Thomas’ Inverse Condemnation Blog. This year’s conference opened with the Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Prize being awarded to Professor Henry E. Smith of Harvard Law School. The prize is named in honor of the...

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In an article published in the New York Law Journal Owners’ Counsel of America Members Mike Rikon and Jon Houghon discuss the recent decision in Staten Island Land Corp and how it seeks to address the problem of advance payments and sandbagging in the State of New York. As they explain in the article, under New York’s quick take statute, the government can take title to property which it seeks to...

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Owners’ Counsel of America member Randall Smith writes in a new article published in the October/November issue of the Louisiana Bar Journal about the unique interplay between Louisiana’s expropriation laws and the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision in the Knick case. The article focuses on what Knick may mean for Covid-19 claims against local governments in the wake of mass shutdowns and other regulatory measures that are currently...

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OCA Affiliate Member, Stephen Clarke of the law firm of Waldo & Lyle in Norfolk Virginia recently joined Clint Schumacher on his Eminent Domain podcast to share a story about the reaction of his clients to the cancellation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project.  On a lighter note, Stephen also introduces Clint to the board game “Settlers of Catan.” To listen to the podcast, click here. Clint’s Podcast can...

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The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Knick v. Township of Scott has been aptly described as one of the most influential property rights cases of the last decade. In Knick, the Court explicitly overturned the second prong of the so-called Williamson County ripeness test that required property owners to seek a remedy through state action –usually just compensation – for the alleged taking before coming to federal court. In...

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To follow up on a story we ran earlier regarding OCA’s Amicus Brief filing in the case of the City of Suffolk’s operation of a sewage and stormwater system so as to discharge wastewater into the Nansemond River, we learn that after recent rains an estimated 1.5 million gallons of raw sewage has been dumped in the river. “They are discharging and allowing raw sewage to be discharged into...

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