Tag: property rights

Posted on Jul 10, 2012 in News & Events

Last week the Owners’ Counsel of America filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the property owner in Arkansas Game & Fish Comm’n v. United States, No. 11-597 (cert. granted April 2, 2012) urging the United States Supreme Court to reverse a decision by a Federal Circuit Court which erroneously found that the federal government’s recurrent flooding did not constitute a compensable taking of private property simply because of its temporary nature.

Posted on Jun 26, 2012 in News & Events

Last week, Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky introduced legislation to strengthen private property rights by limiting the power of eminent domain. The Protection of Homes, Small Businesses and Private Property Act of 2012 seeks to prevent the federal government from using its eminent domain power and state and local governments from using federal funds to fund the use of eminent domain for economic development.

Posted on Jun 14, 2012 in News & Events

CNBC India recently examined the similarities and differences of eminent domain laws and procedures around the world on it’s legal program, The Firm. The program’s focus upon eminent domain stems from legislation introduced in Indian in 2011, the Land Acquisition Bill, which proposes to allow the government to acquire land on behalf of private companies for public purpose. The bill defines public purpose as the building of roads, highways, strategic defense and other accepted public purposes.

Posted on Apr 18, 2012 in News & Events

Last week Willets Point United, a group of business and land owners dedicated to fighting eminent domain abuse in Willets Point, Queens, NY, and supporters of private property owners rallied in support of H.R. 1433, The Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2012. H.R. 1433 prohibits the use of federal funds for economic development projects that use the power of eminent domain to take private property for anything other than public use.

Posted on Mar 22, 2012 in News & Events

The Owners’ Counsel of America is greatly saddened by the death of our fellow Member and friend, Jay S.Dushoff. A nationally recognized condemnation and property rights attorney, Mr. Dushoff passed away on March 21, 2012 in Phoenix, AZ following a long battle with cancer.

Posted on Mar 6, 2012 in News & Events

Last week (February 28), the United States House of Representatives passed by the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2012 (H.R. 1443), which is intended to prevent the misuse of eminent domain for economic development. The proposed bill is not a cure for eminent domain abuse.

Posted on Feb 23, 2012 in News & Events

The Owners’ Counsel of America recently honored one of the country’s top condemnation and property rights attorneys, Toby Prince Brigham, Esq., for his devotion to the constitutional right of private property ownership. For more than 50 years, Toby Brigham, has represented property owners in Florida and across the United States in eminent domain, inverse condemnation, regulatory taking challenges, condemnation blight, and related real estate, land use and business damage litigation at both the trial and appellate level.

Posted on Jul 5, 2011 in News & Events

What: The 8th Annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference
Where: Tsinghua University School of Law, Beijing, China

Posted on Jun 16, 2011 in News & Events

The documentary Battle for Brooklyn opens this Friday, June 17th, at Cinema Village in Manhattan and at indieScreen in Brooklyn. The film Battle for Brooklyn captures a community’s seven-year fight to stop the use of eminent domain to take their homes and businesses for the construction of a mixed-use development including a basketball arena for the New Jersey Nets and commercial towers.

Posted on Apr 13, 2011 in News & Events

Yesterday, Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Maxine Waters (D-CA) introduced H.R. 1433, the “Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2011.” This bipartisan bill prohibits states and municipalities from using eminent domain for private development if they have received federal economic development funds. H.R. 1433 also prohibits the federal government from using eminent domain for economic development, the taking of private property and transferring of it to another private entity in order to increase tax revenue, jobs or for general economic growth.