Archive | Just Compensation

Utilizing the Power of Eminent Domain to Stop a Nuisance

According to an article published in Newsday, the Hempstead Town Board has taken the first step to seize a shuttered West Hempstead motel through eminent domain to stop activities that it says make it a nuisance, a tactic a legal expert called “unusual.” The town board scheduled a hearing for December 5 to condemn the Capri Motor Inn on Hempstead Turnpike. The board resolution, adopted at its October 3 meeting without discussion, alleges that the town has “received complaints, and this board has taken testimony that evidence prostitution, narcotics activity,… read more

Posted in Condemnation, Eminent Domain, Just Compensation, Nuisance, Police Power
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EDPL Section 701

The Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed an award of $799,627 for reimbursement of legal and appraisal fees pursuant to Section 701 of the Eminent Domain Procedure Law.  The award followed a trial where the City of New York valued the Staten Island vacant land condemned at $611,000.  Goldstein, Rikon, Rikon & Levi, P.C. representing the claimant, Yeshivas Ch’San Sofer, obtained $3,165,513 after trial.  Matter of Oakwood Beach Bluebelt (Yeshivas Ch’San Sofer), ___ AD3d ___ (Sept. 13, 2023). Eminent Domain Procedure Law (EDPL), § 701, was amended to provide that when… read more

Posted in Attorneys' Fees, Condemnation, Just Compensation
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Lowballing African-American Farmers in a $5.6 Billion Project

A largely rural African-American farming region in western Tennessee is subject to condemnations for a series of road connections and widenings that will link a 4,100-acre Blue Oval Ford campus to a new Exit 39 off of I-40 to accommodate throngs of workers and truck traffic.  Ford Motor Company broke ground on its future $5.6 billion electric truck plant a year ago. The state is seeking 35 separate tracts of land by purchase or eminent domain.  Thus far the state has taken possession of 15 tracts.  The path of the… read more

Posted in Eminent Domain, Just Compensation, Lowball Offers
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South Grand View Development – A Regulatory Taking Case

Eric Bregman, Esq. (www.ericbregman.com), a prominent land use attorney in Long Island’s East End, sent me the decision handed down by the Eleventh Circuit on June 21, 2021, South Grand View Development Company, Inc. v City of Alabaster, Alabama 1F. 4th 1299. The facts are relatively simple.  The plaintiff purchased 547 acres of land in the City of Alabaster for $1.65 million.  The masterplan for development was submitted to and approved by the City.  Most of the development was completed by 2008 but the 142-acre portion of land at issue,… read more

Posted in Due Process, Just Compensation, Re-zonings
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No Soup for You – Colorado Supreme Court Refuses Compensation for Taking of Restrictive Covenant

The Town of Monument condemned a privately owned lot in a residential subdivision for the purpose of locating a water storage tank.  The lot was subject to a restrictive covenant requiring that it remain residential in use and that only a single-family home could be built on it.  Restrictive covenants are not unusual and are common in the development of planned unit communities.  Restrictive covenants have significant and substantial impact on the use and value of property. In response to the Town’s condemnation proceeding, dozens of property owners in the… read more

Posted in Compensation, Easements, Just Compensation, Restrictive Covenants
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