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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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Posted in Condemnation, Parkland, Public Trust Doctrine, Uncategorized
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July 25, 2023

Federal Funds Now Devoted to Help Undo the Damage to Black Neighborhoods by Urban Renewal

We have previously written how Urban Renewal brought under the Federal Housing Act of 1949 authorized cities to use the power of eminent domain to clear “blighted neighborhoods” for “higher use.”  (See “Urban Renewal, An Assault on Black Neighborhoods, New York Law Journal, February 24, 2023.) African Americans, who were 12% of the population in the US, were five times more likely to be displaced than they should have been given their numbers in the population.  In city after city, highways that were built to appease white suburban commuters, and… read more

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Posted in Blight, Eminent Domain, Urban Renewal
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July 20, 2023

Foreign Buyers Pay More for Real Estate Than Local Buyers.

An interesting article in the Winter 2023 issue of “The Appraisal Journal” written by Drs. Allen, Goodwin and O’Sullivan concluded that foreign buyers pay more for real estate.  The authors studied the condo market in Miami.  Their conclusion validated the generally accepted belief within the real estate industry that local buyers have an advantage from first hand knowledge of real estate people in the community, the neighborhood dynamics and pricing trends. Most people have a handle on what a house is worth.  They know what a house for sale is… read more

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Posted in Foreign Buyers, Local Buyers, Real Estate Customs
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July 18, 2023

You Want a Pipeline? You Know What to Do!

The Wall Street Journal featured an article written by David Harrison titled, “Lost Pipeline a Bitter Pill for Foes.” The story is about the Mountain Valley Pipeline running through West Virginia and Virginia.  It was successfully challenged for over ten years.  The 303-mile, $6.6 billion pipeline running through the two states was a pet project of Senator Joe Manchin who couldn’t line up enough senate votes for his bill despite repeated attempts. Landowners and environmental groups have fought the pipeline since it was first proposed in 2014.  Many landowners also… read more

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Posted in Congress, Eminent Domain, Mountain Valley Pipeline, Pipelines, Sen. Joe Manchin
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June 27, 2023

Who’s in Charge Here: The Province of the Trial Court in a Condemnation Case

New York is one of only three states in the nation that does not allow trial by jury in an eminent domain case.  All claims against the State of New York and certain other state authorities have exclusive jurisdiction in the Court of Claims where, regardless of the nature of the claim, there are no jury trials.  Appropriation claims in the Court of Claims are certainly included and are tried by a Court of Claims Judge.  Other condemnation matters must be tried by a Justice of the Supreme Court.  This… read more

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Posted in Comparable Sales, Eminent Domain, Expert Witness, Province of Trial Court
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June 13, 2023

Everything Is Big In Texas

Texas has been operating a state park on land leased for free for 50 years.  The owner made a deal to sell the land to a luxury home developer.  The 5,000-acre parcel of land was purchased for $110.5 million by Todd developers. After months of stalled legislative efforts and failed negotiations to secure the park, the state opted to seize the land from Todd Interests, a Dallas-based developer, who purchased the property in February for $110.5 million.  Commissioners were not eager to use the power of eminent domain to condemn… read more

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Posted in Development Property, Eminent Domain, Park
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June 8, 2023

The War Over Wind Farms

Wyoming has a range war going on.  It’s something out of a Zane Gray novel.  The problem is wind farms and transmission lines.  Wind and solar farms require exponentially more land than conventional power plants, and require an extensive buildout of thousands of miles of transmission lines to transport energy from wherever it is being produced at any given moment to where it is being consumed. A ranch owner described the experience of receiving a letter telling him that a company told him they were going to build a pipeline… read more

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Posted in Eminent Domain, Transmission Lines, Wind Farms
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June 1, 2023

Waters of the United States? Don’t Bet on It!

The United States Supreme Court handed down Sackett v Environmental Protection Agency on May 25, 2023. We had written about the case in Bulldozers at Your Doorstep several times. On May 2, 2023, we wrote, the question presented in Petitioners’ brief is, “Did the Ninth Circuit set forth the proper test for determining whether wetlands are ‘waters of the United States’ under the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. Sec. 1362(7)?” The logic of the designation is difficult to follow.  The property is across the street from Priest Lake, Idaho.  The… read more

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Posted in CWA, Navigable Waters, WOTUS
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May 30, 2023

We Are Taking Your House and Keeping the Change

Sometimes you truly wonder why a case has to be decided by the highest court in the land.  I mean the facts are so compelling; can there really be a legal issue? The Supreme Court handed down Tyler v Hennepin County, ____ US ____, (No. 22-166, May 25, 2023) last week.  The facts were that Geraldine Tyler, who was 94, owned a condominium that accumulated about $15,000 in unpaid real estate taxes along with interest and penalties.  Actually, the amount of unpaid taxes was $2,300.  The interest and penalties were… read more

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Posted in Fourteenth Amendment, Takings Clause, Tax Seizure
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May 16, 2023

You Can Move Your Team to Another City. But Good Luck with the Stadium.

So, the Oakland A’s are moving out of Oakland to Las Vegas.  The team’s owner also owns a half-interest in the in the Oakland Coliseum.  This is not good for the City of Oakland since he could block the future redevelopment of one of Oakland’s most valuable parcels. Meanwhile, Oakland officials, who want to see new housing and commercial development on the Coliseum property, in January entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement with African American Sports and Entertainment Group to eventually sell it the city’s half-interest in the site. AASEG… read more

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Posted in Eminent Domain, Sports Teams, Stadiums
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