Archive | Future of the law

Register Now for ALI-CLE Eminent Domain Conference

This year’s annual Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation Seminar will be given by ALI-CLE on February 5-7, 2015 at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco, California. The program is a must for attorneys who practice eminent domain and land use law. The program includes both substantive and procedural presentations utilizing the best speakers in the country. Under the guidance of Robert H. Thomas and Joseph T. Waldo, the national program addresses those areas where new developments in the law and procedure have and will reshape the practice. The program… read more

Posted in Continuing Legal Education, Future of the law, Speaking Appearances
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New York City to the Rescue- Council Members Seek to Use Eminent Domain to Condemn Underwater Mortgages

At a press conference on the steps of City Hall, City Council members and housing advocacy groups called on the Mayor to help homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure. Such help would come in the form of using eminent domain to “buy back mortgages where homeowners owe more than their houses are worth.” According to a CBS report on June 25, 2014, “under the proposed plan, City government would purchase the mortgages from banks and refinance them to match the home’s value to prevent foreclosure.” According to the report,… read more

Posted in Continuing Legal Education, Eminent Domain Abuse, Future of the law, Mortgage seizures, New York, Uncategorized
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California Supreme Court Grants Review in Property Reserve Case

In our June 5, 2014 posting we reported a significant California Case, Property Reserve, Inc v Superior Court, 224 Cal. App. 4th 828 (2014). In Property Reserve, the Third District California Court of Appeal ruled that entry statutes are unconstitutional when the activities for which entry is sought constitute an intentional taking of property without the full protections offered by a condemnation action. For separate reasons, the Court of Appeal found that both the geological and environmental studies would effect a taking or intentional damage of property; thus the filing… read more

Posted in Eminent Domain, Eminent Domain Abuse, Entry Statutes, Future of the law
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California Court of Appeals Holds Entry Statute Unconstitutional

In a recent case, Property Reserve, Inc. v Superior Court, 224 Cal.App.4th 828 (2014), the Third District California Court of Appeal ruled that entry statutes are unconstitutional when the activities for which the entry is sought constitute an intentional taking of property without the full protections afforded by a condemnation action. More specifically, the Court ruled that the pre-entry condemnation statutes, (found in Code of Civil Procedure sections 1245.010 et seq.) violate the takings provisions of article I, section 19 of the California Constitution. These entry statutes were enacted in 1976 and… read more

Posted in Challenging condemnation, Eminent Domain, Eminent Domain Abuse, Future of the law, Recent cases
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The Time Has Come to Stop the State’s Improper Deposit of Advance Payments

By: Jonathan Houghton Every State appropriation that we are aware of now starts with an automatic, unexplained deposit of the advance payment. This conduct is as egregious as it is pervasive. The State fails to provide any advance notice and refuses to tell the Claimant when the deposit was made or why. The Claimant first learns the “when” and the “why” when the State submits an Answer. And often times, the purported rationale is questionable. Unless a court intervenes and stops this improper conduct, the State’s automatic deposits of the… read more

Posted in Eminent Domain Abuse, Future of the law, New York, Offer & Compensation
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