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April 23, 2024

Sheetz v County of El Dorado __ S.Ct. __ [2024]

In Sheetz v County of El Dorado __ S.Ct. __ [2024], the Supreme Court of the United States held that fees imposed to mitigate traffic congestion that might result from erecting a home on a parcel of land must have an “essential nexus” to the government’s land-use interest  and must have a “rough proportionality” to the development’s impact on the land-use interest regardless of whether the fees are predetermined by a legislatively prescribed fee schedule or imposed on an individual and discretionary basis by an administrative branch of government.  The… read more

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July 27, 2023

The Public Trust Doctrine in New York. A Park Is Not A Park Unless It’s Not.

  In 2015, New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, decided Matter of Glick v Harvey.[1]  The appeals court affirmed the reversal of a lower court order which enjoined New York University from beginning any construction in connection with its expansion project that would result in any alienation of three parcels of land found by the Court to be public parkland, unless and until the State Legislature authorizes the alienation of any parkland to be impacted by the project.  The decision itself provides very little factual information.  According to… read more

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May 13, 2021

We Don’t Need No Stinking Facts: The Incredible Misinformation of the Media, Eviction at Sheikh Jarrah

Hamas, an Islamist group that seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, has launched 1500 rockets into Israel so far.  The flash point for this violence is a simple land dispute in East Jerusalem.   The East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah was the location of the eviction of several Palestinian families following a ruling from Jerusalem’s District Court.  The families were represented by counsel.  An appeal has been taken to Israel’s Supreme Court.  But before the appeal can be heard, Palestinian Arabs have rioted nightly with violent eruptions… read more

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May 11, 2021

When A Park Just Isn’t A Park

We represent Brinkmann Hardware Corp. which owns a wooded lot in Mattituck, Suffolk County.  The family-owned business operates four hardware stores across Long Island.  The Town of Southold has used every trick to prevent the construction of the Mattituck hardware store, including imposing a nonsense moratorium. Southold lost every round in Court, so what does it do when it cannot stop construction, authorize condemning the land. The Institute for Justice filed suit in Federal District Court to stop the condemnation alleging a violation of due process and the Fifth Amendment. … read more

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October 8, 2020

Texas Bullet Train Gains Federal Approval

The high-speed train that promises to transport passengers between Dallas and Houston in 90 minutes has been approved by the Federal Railroad Administration according to Texas Central Railroad, the company in charge of the project.   The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration issued the two key rulings, which provide the regulatory framework and the environmental review for the high-speed train, that Texas official were waiting on to move forward with the project, according to the company.  The announcement was first reported by the Houston Chronicle.   Texas Central… read more

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