Category: OCA Blog

April 16th, 2021 — In OCA Blog
OCA Member’s Recent Win Highlights Growing Concerns Over Damage Caused by Flooding and Water Events
Nearly every week OCA receives one or more phone calls from concerned property owners relating to flooding or other water related events causing significant damage to their property. With climate change and global warming placing ever increasing burdens on our aging public infrastructure, these complaints are likely to continue and even increase. Indeed, OCA member Randall Smith (whose practice in lowlying Louisiana places him at the forefront of this...
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April 5th, 2021 — In OCA Blog
ALI-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation Conference Now Scheduled for 2022
Mark your calendars for the next ALI-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation Conference to be held in Scottsdale, Arizona at the Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch. The conference dates are January 27-29, 2022. Exploring a full range of cutting-edge issues and drawing professionals from across the country, this annual conference is always “the place to be” for all eminent domain and land use practitioners looking to learn from...
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March 3rd, 2021 — In OCA Blog
OCA Member Michael Rikon Inducted into IAOTP’s Hall of Fame
Michael Rikon, OCA’s New York Member and a Partner of Goldstein, Rikon, Rikon & Houghton, P.C., was recently inducted into the exclusive Hall of Fame for 2021 by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP). These special honorees are distinguished based on longevity in their fields of practice, as well as their overall contributions to society. Mr. Rikon is being recognized for this honor based on over 50 years in the...
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February 17th, 2021 — In OCA Blog
Considering the Condemnation of Golf Course Land or Golf Facilities-Not So Fast
OCA’s New York member Michael Rikon writes in his Bulldozers at Your DoorStep Blog about the hazards and risks associated with a condemnor seeking to acquire a golf course or lands associated with a golf facility by eminent domain main. “Not so fast,” Mike advises. Before deciding that such actions are a good idea, the condemnor might wish to critically analyze the concept of highest and best use. To...
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February 3rd, 2021 — In OCA Blog
Anthony DellaPelle Assumes Leadership Role With Great Swamp Watershed Association
OCA’s New Jersey member and property rights attorney Anthony DellaPelle with the law firm of McKirdy Riskin Olson and Dellapelle out of Morris Township was recently elected as the new Board chairman of the Great Swamp Watershed Association. First formed in 1981 as a grassroots organization the Association has grown to serve over 2,200 members in some 40 municipalities within New Jersey. The principle mission of GSWA is to...
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December 18th, 2020 — In OCA Blog
Hawaii: State Takings Are “Self-Executing” Constitutional Violations (Not Torts Or Breaches Of Contract), Subject To A Six-Year Statute Of Limitations
In DW Aina Lea Dev., LLC v. State of Hawaii Land Use Comm’n, No. SCCQ-19-156 (Dec. 17, 2020), the unanimous Hawaii Supreme Court held that the statute of limitations governing a regulatory takings claim under the Hawaii Constitution’s “takings or damagings” clause is six years. The case started out in a Hawaii state court, and was removed to the U.S. District Court by the State Land Use Commission. The district...
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December 11th, 2020 — In News & Events
Virginia Supreme Court Rules No Taking in Oystermen Case
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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December 10th, 2020 — In News & Events
Dwight Merriam Chosen By Connect Real Estate News As One of Only 50 Lawyers for 2020 Award
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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November 21st, 2020 — In OCA Blog
Virginia Statute Allowing Electrical Easements to be Use for Broadband Challenged as Unconstitutional
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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October 30th, 2020 — In News & Events
Announcing OCA and PLF Joint Webinar on Shutdowns, Closures, Moratoria, and Bans
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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