OCA Blog

It’s not too late to register for the annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference presented by the William & Mary Property Rights Project.This ground-breaking conference is held in honor of OCA founder Toby Prince Brigham and OCA Honorary Member Gideon Kanner for their lifetime contributions to private property rights. The conference is designed to bring together members of the bench, bar, and academia to explore recent developments in the law...

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Due to ongoing concerns with travel and large public gatherings that we don’t expect to subside in the coming months, ALI CLE has decided to cancel the annual Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation conference which was previously scheduled for January 28-30, 2021 at the Doubletree hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona. They are, however, still planning a virtual conference for the same dates (minus Saturday) to ensure that attendees can...

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The St. Louis County Circuit Court recently approved University City’s request to condemn seven commercial properties within the footprint of Novus Development’s nearly $190 million project. Novus’ plans to use the site at Olive and Interstate I-70 to develop a mix of retail anchored by a Costco store, apartments, offices and potentially a hotel. Last year, the City approved $70.5 million in tax increment financing for the project. OCA...

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OCA’s Affiliate Member Michael Ryan covers in his firm’s blog the recent Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Protect Our Parks, Inc. v Chicago Park District, 2020 WL 4915631, affirming a grant of summary judgment in favor of the government on a Fifth Amendment takings claim. Protect Our Parks, Inc. and several individual Chicago residents had sued the City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District in federal...

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Submitted by OCA Missouri Member Paul Henry Despite many ups and downs and much opposition from Missouri property owners, a proposed electric transmission line necessitating the acquisition of 206 miles of easements is still in the works to cross Northern Missouri. The massive transmission line was designed by Clean Line partners to deliver wind-generated energy from Kansas to the Illinois and Indiana border. The propose line is unique in...

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Best Lawyers, the oldest peer-review publication in the legal profession, has named 26 Owners’ Counsel of America members in its 27th Edition for 2021 in recognition of their Eminent Domain and Condemnation expertise and practices. The list includes George Autry (North Carolina), Stephanie Autry (North Carolina), Keith Babcock (South Carolina), Joshua Baker (Virginia), Michael Berger (California), Dana Berliner (Institute for Justice), William Blake (Nebraska), Amy Brigham Boulris (Florida), Andrew...

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Developer Bridge Aina Le‘a, LLC, purchased a large tract of land in Hawaii  to build hundreds of new homes. Before the company ever got the chance, however, the Hawaii Land Use Commission re‐​designated the land for agricultural use, effectively preventing any  residential development from occurring. Bridge Aina Le‘a sued asserting its constitutional right against an uncompensated taking of its’ property. After an eight day trial, a jury found the...

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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused substantial uncertainty for businesses. As of March 24, 2020, the President has declared an emergency under the Stafford Act and the Minnesota Governor has declared a peacetime emergency. Given the situation, the government may order businesses to close or take goods, equipment and space that may be needed for the government’s response. While the government has the power to take such extraordinary actions, that...

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Although the eminent domain power is an attribute of the sovereign, there are instances in which a private licensee is delegated the power for the acquisition of easements necessary to establish a lineal corridor. For the purposes of this article, our examination of the jurisprudence associated with the acquisition of lineal corridor rights takes place in the “laboratory” of the federal district courts in Florida. For it is there...

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Landowners, Lee and Ryan Thomas, who were represented by Andrew Brigham, OCA’s Florida member, recently defeated Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC when the Eleventh Circuit affirmed their two jury verdicts totaling over $1.3 million for easement rights for which the pipeline company earlier argued compensation should only be $39,700. Sabal Trail’s appeal sought to overturn the jury verdicts on the basis that the jurors improperly relied on the testimonies of...

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