The US Supreme Court issued its Kelo eminent domain case in 2005. That case held that it is not necessarily unconstitutional to take private property for another private entity to use. Now the subject of that case is the subject of a new movie. In Little Pink House, the movie centers on Suzette Kelo –
Eminent Domain
NC Supreme Court Allows Brokers’ Fair Market Value Testimony
The North Carolina Supreme Court has held that real estate brokers may legally testify regarding the fair market value of real property in condemnation cases. In NCDOT v. Mission Battleground Leasco, LLC, the condemnee attempted to offer the testimony of a licensed real estate broker as to the property’s fair market value . The…
Appellate Court Affirms Our York Verdict
I tried a case in York County, PA involving a condemnation of the former York County Prison. My clients purchased the property in the ‘80s and were waiting for the right time to develop the property when it was taken by the City of York RDA.
The RDA claimed it was worth about $65,000. We…
NJ Court Rejects Argument That Condemnor Drove Down Property’s Value
A New Jersey appellate Court on Monday upheld a $4.4 million valuation of a parking lot condemned by the city of Hoboken. In Ponte Equities Inc. et al. v. City of Hoboken, the property owners sought additional damages claiming that the city lowered the market value of the 1-acre lot before taking it for…
SCOTUS Declines Fla. Keys Property Rights Appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to hear the appeal of the owner of a Florida Keys island who alleged that increasingly restrictive development regulations have harmed his property rights. The property owner argued that the zoning of the 9-acre Bamboo Key as a bird rookery constituted a taking. Florida’s lower court ruled …
SCOTUS Will Not Hear FL Eminent Domain Case
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition to hear a developer’s case against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection over a permit denial for a beachfront parcel. The case relates to a DEP denial of a final permit for a project to build 17 luxury townhouse units on an oceanfront site. After the DEP’s decision,…
NYC May Use Eminent Domain To Deal With Homeless Issues
To address the homeless crisis, NY City will acquire buildings that house homeless families to convert them to affordable housing, using with legal force if necessary. It has stated that it will use eminent domain if necessary.
The city has rented apartments in private buildings to house homeless families since the Giuliani administration. On Wednesday,…
NJ Court Affirms Use Of Eminent Domain For Landfill
A NJ appellate court ruled that the state’s Sports and Exposition Authority had the right to use eminent domain to acquire a landfill to continue solid waste disposal there. The Court held that the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority could use eminent domain to acquire the Keegan landfill. The agency also was not obligated…
SCOTUS Asked To Hear Tribal Land Condemnation Case
A New Mexico utility has filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal of a decision precluding it from condemning land for a power line because the Navajo Nation held an interest in that property. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held there is no federal law permitting tribal lands to…
GA Supreme Court: Condemnees Must Be Given Appraisal Summary Before Condemnation
The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that the city of Marietta violated the Georgia Landowner’s Bill of Rights when it condemned a grocery store without providing a summary of its appraisal to the property owner. The City argued that these provisions were not mandatory. This was rejected by a unanimous Court explaining that the law…