Tag: eminent domain/condemnation

Posted on Sep 7, 2018 in News & Events

OCA mourns the recent passing of one of its most beloved and admired members, Dixon Montague. Dixon’s professional achievements are plentiful and lengthy. After graduating from Tulane University and the University of Mississippi (J.D. 1977), he joined Vinson and Elkins in Houston Texas. There he spent over 30 years representing clients in eminent domain, inverse condemnation, and regulatory takings cases against local, state, and federal authorities in federal and state courts. Dixon was recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer annually since 2005 and listed in the Best Lawyers in America annually since 2008. He was honored as a Best Lawyer of the Year for Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law in 2012 and 2015. Dixon also served as a member of the Board of the Pacific Legal Foundation during a time when it experienced some of its most important victories for property rights, including the famous Koontz case. “All of us at PLF who knew Dixon will miss his passion and wisdom, and we extend our deepest condolences to his family,” says Jim Burling, OCA member and Vice President of Litigation for PLF. In 2017 Dixon was awarded the prestigious Crystal Eagle Award by Owners’ Counsel of America for his zealous advocacy and creativity in pursuit of the truth and the constitutional promise of just and adequate compensation. Dixon was one of a kind. We will miss him terribly.

Posted on Apr 19, 2018 in News & Events

James L. Thompson, a partner with Miller, Miller & Canby and OCA Member Emeritus has been selected as Senior Lawyer of the Year by the Maryland State Bar Association Senior Lawyer Section. Thompson’s career has spanned more than 45 years, during which he has served clients and the legal community. He concentrates his practice in eminent domain and real estate valuation litigation, as well as civil litigation involving complex real estate and commercial disputes. He has led the litigation practice group at Miller, Miller & Canby for more than 25 years. In addition to his legal work, Mr. Thompson has served the legal community at large by his participation with the county, state and national bar associations. He served as President of the Montgomery County Bar Association, President of the Maryland State Bar Association and was active in the American Bar Association with service in the House of Delegates. He currently serves on the Committee on Public Trust & Confidence, appointed by the Maryland Court of Appeals. For his record of excellence and commitment to his profession he received the Daily Record’s Leadership in Law Award,  the Montgomery County Bar Association’s Century of Service Award and the Federal Bar Association’s Peter D. Dirito Endowment Award, bestowed annually to recognize public service in the enhancement of the legal profession and the advancement of justice.  He is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, has been a named Super Lawyer for the state of Maryland every year since 2007. He was […]

Posted on Mar 5, 2018 in Uncategorized

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, litigators, led by partner and OCA Member Edward G. Burg at trial, secured a victory for Hahm International Inc. and Levand Steel & Supply Corp. on Feb. 15 in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California against the United States. The jury awarded $30.3 million in compensation to the owners of 1,000 acres of land in the Mojave Desert, which was taken by eminent domain for expansion of the U.S. Marine Corps training base at Twentynine Palms.The property, owned by principals of Hahm International Inc. of Apple Valley and Levand Steel & Supply Corp. of Los Angeles, contained a permitted iron ore mine that was slated to supply iron ore to the cement industry for the next 45 years. The United States told the jury that the property was worth $5.6 million, while the owners claimed the property was worth $38.6 million.Burg, representing the property owners, hailed the verdict. “We always believed that the federal government vastly undervalued the property by not recognizing its uniqueness and its importance to future infrastructure and construction in California,” he said. The property owners currently own one of two active iron ore mines in California supplying iron to the cement industry. The property in the lawsuit, a permitted mine known as Morris Mine, was to become the next source of iron ore for the industry. Located in Johnson Valley, in the desert east of Apple Valley, it is the only iron ore mine permitted in the state in the […]

Posted on Feb 28, 2018 in Articles

Owners’ Counsel of America Member Randall Smith represented several landowners who filed damage claims arising from a sewage and sanitation project in New Orleans. After several years of litigation, the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board has agreed to pay five Uptown stores a total of $2.125 million for physical damages and the loss of business caused by major drainage work done on Jefferson Avenue in recent years. The settlement, finalized Monday, comes as the S&WB is preparing for trial in a case brought by 275 plaintiffs who allege their homes also were damaged by work on the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, usually referred to as SELA. Langenstein’s, Discount Corner, Prytania Liquor Store, Prytania Mail Service and British Antiques are among the first plaintiffs to settle claims against the S&WB for damage from the work that turned Jefferson, Napoleon and Louisiana avenues into construction zones for years The five businesses suffered structural damage, including cracks in their buildings and problems with their foundations, and saw their business drop off because the construction limited access to their locations, said Randy Smith, an attorney representing the stores. “At the end of the day, the S&WB and its lawyers stepped up and did what was right,” Smith said.

Posted on Feb 13, 2018 in News & Events

Owners’ Counsel of American (OCA) is pleased to announce the selection of Joshua E. Baker of the firm of Waldo & Lyle as the Primary OCA Representative for the State of Virginia. After an extended vetting process, Owners’ Counsel of America limits its membership to but one eminent domain attorney from each of the 50 states. The Virginia seat was previously occupied by Joseph T. Waldo who has been elected to Emeritus Status. Baker, who has been practicing for 12 years, is well-known throughout Virginia, not only for his representation of private property owners, but also as a grassroots advocate for property rights reforms. In addition to his robust eminent domain practice, Baker is called every year to testify at hearings on private property rights issues before the Virginia General Assembly or to assist in the drafting of eminent domain legislation. His expertise and reputation have helped defeat measures that would limit owners’ rights in condemnation cases, and pass reforms strengthening them. Baker also played a leadership role in the drafting and advocacy of Virginia’s 2012 enactment of a constitutional amendment prohibiting the use of eminent domain for economic development. Like many OCA members, Baker limits his practice exclusively to the representation of private property owners facing the loss of or damage to their property through condemnation, inverse condemnation and regulatory takings. In 2017, Baker resolved over 40 different property rights disputes with just compensation payments ranging from several thousand dollars to several hundred thousands of dollars.

Posted on Feb 6, 2018 in News & Events

Owners’ Counsel of America (OCA) announces that it has presented its highest honor, the Crystal Eagle Award, to Luis Gallardo-Rivera of Puerto Rico, a person who has consistently demonstrated his passion and commitment to the protection of private property rights in his native country of Puerto Rico. Working with other dedicated citizens who believe that the residential communities of Puerto Rico need not be sacrificed in the name of economic and private redevelopment projects, Luis Gallardo-Rivera has fought diligently to transform and modernize Puerto Rico’s eminent domain laws. In 2012, as a student in the pro bono clinic of the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, Luis and others worked closely with Professor Maria Hernandez to draft municipal ordinances designed to curb expropriation abuses at the local level. Later, under the mentorship of Professor Adi Martinez, Luis participated in the investigation and legal filings that led to the Supreme Court’s decision in Guaynabo vs. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, finding that the rights of hundreds of families living in the community of Vietnam had been violated by their unlawful displacement. Later, in 2015 Luis was instrumental in drafting and lobbying for the passage of House Bill 2321, a major piece of legislation designed to update and transform the eminent domain laws of Puerto Rico in order provide private landowners faced with the taking of their property greater legal protections and due process safeguards. Although House Bill 2321 was tabled without being acted upon, the hard work of Luis and other dedicated individuals brought public and media attention to the critical […]

Posted on Nov 29, 2016 in News & Events

Join Owners’ Counsel of America attorneys at the 34th annual American Law Institute Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation course in San Diego, California. This live CLE program will take place Thursday – Saturday, January 26-28, 2017 at the Westin San Diego, in downtown San Diego, California.  

Posted on Oct 28, 2016 in News & Events

During a ceremony at The Peace Palace in The Hague on October 21, the 2016 the 2016 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Prize was awarded to Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto, President of the Institute of Liberty and Democracy. An advocate for the formal recognition of private property ownership as a solution to global poverty, de Soto has been recognized internationally for his work. The Prize was awarded following the conclusion of the 13th Annual Brigham-Kanner International Property Rights Conference in which a number of OCA attorneys participated.

Posted on Oct 5, 2016 in Articles

Recently, the Owners’ Counsel of America filed an amicus brief in a property rights case currently pending in the North Carolina Supreme Court. The case, Nies v. Town of Emerald Isle, No. COA15-169 (N.C. App. Nov. 17, 2015), concerns the ownership and right to use the “dry sand” beach.  OCA joined with Hawaii Law Professor David Callies as amici on the brief.

Posted on Aug 31, 2016 in News & Events

On August 22, the Supreme Court of Hawaii accepted the Application for Writ of Certiorari filed July 10, 2016 by the landowner in County of Kauai v. Hanalei River Holdings, Ltd., No. SCWC-14-0000828.  The Owners’ Counsel of America (OCA) joined with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Legal Center to file an amici curiae brief in the case urging the Court to review and overturn the appellate court’s decision.