Archive | 2014

Michael Rikon Publishes NYLJ Article on Public Trust Doctrine and NYC Parklands

Mr. Rikon’s most recent NYLJ, available by clicking here, discusses the public trust doctrine and recent New York cases involving challenges to public parklands. As Mr. Rikon writes, the parks are protected by the public trust doctrine, which was adopted by the States from well-established English Law. The landmark case was Illinois Central Railroad v. Illinois, 146 US 387 (1892). In that case, the Illinois legislature had granted most of the Chicago harbor to the railroad. The Supreme Court held that the State held title to the land underneath the… read more

Posted in New York, parklands, Published Articles, Recent cases
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Appellate Division Refuses to Pierce Corporate Veil in Long Island City Taking

The Appellate Division, Second Department recently reversed an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Rios, J.) entered October 16, 2012 which granted the Condemnor’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the claim of Tennisport, Inc. for the taking of its trade fixtures, and additionally directed that an advance payment made to Tennisport be set off against the award for the compensation for the taking of the fee. In reversing, the Appellate Division held that the fee and fixture claims were made by separate and distinct legitimate corporations, and refused to… read more

Posted in Eminent Domain, Highest and Best Use, New York, Offer & Compensation, Trade fixtures
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Games Condemnors Play: When Appraisers Lose Credibility

  In his book, “Expert Witness in the Legal System: A Scientist’s Search for Justice,” Morris S. Zedek wrote that in 2001, the Committee on Criminal Advocacy of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York surveyed judges about the prevalence of perjury in the New York metropolitan area. In regard to expert witnesses, of the thirty judges who responded, 50 percent said they encountered occasional perjury. This is not surprising to a trial lawyer. In condemnation cases, most reputable appraisers do not commit perjury. They may… read more

Posted in Appraisers, Eminent Domain, Highest and Best Use, New York, Recent cases, Trial Preparation
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Eminent Domain to Lower Mortgages: A Silly Idea That Won’t Go Away

Last year we read about the plan of the City of Richmond California to condemn underwater mortgages to squeeze them from financial institutions and refinance them for the homeowner. Financial institutions sued and the plan was aborted. But now we read that the City of San Francisco has an idea to partner with nearby Richmond on the same program. Supervisor John Alvos was quoted in the San Francisco Examiner as saying, “The issue of distressed mortgages is real in San Francisco, data showed that there are hundreds of homes at… read more

Posted in Challenging condemnation, Condemnation Procedures, Eminent Domain Abuse, Mortgage seizures
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Time to Curb Developers from Controlling Condemnation Litigation

If you are reading an appellate court decision deciding a condemnor’s appeal from an award your client recovered and the Court quotes Judge Cardozo in New York, O. & W.R. Co. v. Livingston, 238 NY 300 (1924), it’s not good. This is the case where Judge Cardozo wrote that “it is the duty of the state ,in the conduct of the inquest by which the compensation is ascertained, to see that it is just, not merely to the individual whose property is taken, but to the public which is to… read more

Posted in Condemnation Procedures, Eminent Domain, Eminent Domain Abuse, Future of the law, New York, Offer & Compensation, Recent cases, Valuation
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