An Oklahoma appellate court recently reconfirmed that a taking by a state or local entity must satisfy, among other things, both the state and U.S. Constitutions. In that case, the City of Muskogee condemned a property for a parking lot. The property owners alleged that the taking was not for a “public use” as that
philadelphia eminent domain
Artist’s Defeat of Condemnation Attracts National Attention
About a year ago, the Philadelphia RDA condemned property owned by a nationally recognized artist. This condemnation received a great deal of local and national attention including newspaper and radio coverage (I was interviewed by one station). The property owner, James Dupree, used this property as his studio. The property was one of 17 properties …
Eminent Domain Considered For DC Stadium
Two D.C. Council committees advanced legislation allowing for the use of eminent domain in the construction of a $300 million professional soccer stadium in Washington, D.C. The bill will now go before the full council for a vote on Tuesday. While the legislation allows for eminent domain to be used to acquire the land, Mayor-elect…
VA Supreme Court To Hear Appraisal Admissibility Case
One frequent issue in eminent domain and other valuation cases is the admissibility of appraisals obtained by a party other than the appraisal they intend to actually use. For example, in a case that will be heard by the VA Supreme Court, VDOT had two appraisals in an eminent domain case. VDOT chose only to…
Hartford Takes Properties For Stadiums
The City of Hartford has used its power of eminent domain to assemble land for a stadium. The Hartford City Council approved a $350 million plan to build a minor league baseball stadium for the New Britain Rock Cats. However, it does not own all of the land necessary for the stadium. The City has…
Eminent Domain Topic For Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart used eminent domain debates to criticize Republicans over their support of the Keystone Pipeline in a recent Daily Show. In his usual method, he juxtaposed statements by Republicans decrying the use of the power of eminent domain and supporting its use for the Keystone Pipeline project.
The Show’s use of this topic shows…
Mortgage Fraud Risk Is Unchanged And Valuation Risk Increased
Mortgage Daily has reported that there was no quarterly change in the risk of mortgage fraud, according to the 2Q 2014 National Mortgage Fraud Risk Index published by analytics firm Interthinx. However, the risk of Valuation fraud was up for the quarter.
The mortgage fraud risk index, which is based on an analysis of loans…
NJ Supreme Court Hears Hackensack Eminent Domain Appeal
The city of Hackensack, N.J., has asked the NJ Supreme Court to determine whether a municipality seeking to condemn property must expressly find that the property is “blighted” in order to meet the constitutional eminent domain standard. It seeks to overturn an Appellate Division ruling that rejected the city’s plan to condemn two properties on…
PA Supreme Court Declines Eminent Domain Appeal
The PA Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal in a Mercer County eminent domain case. The case involves Mercer Area School District’s attempt to condemn property that borders school grounds to extend a parking lot and build an emergency access point. The School Board first attempted to condemn land in 2010. However,…
Hoboken Found To Have Misapplied Property Rehabilitation Law
The New Jersey Appellate Division recently held that Hoboken cannot designate an 11.5-acre site in the city as an “area in need of rehabilitation,” which had allowed it to implement a redevelopment plan. It found that the Hoboken City council misinterpreted the appropriate statute. The Appellate Division held that it was unclear whether the council…