Searching For: inverse

NJ Inverse Condemnation Action “Grossly Out of Time”

A two-judge panel of the Superior Court, Appellate Division issued a per curiam opinion yesterday in 546 OG, LLC v Edgewater affirming summary judgment dismissal of a property owner’s “inverse” condemnation claim. Opinion – 546 OG LLC v. Edgewater.  Basically, when a property owner alleges that its property has been taken by a governmental entity... read more

Great 8, Number 2: Washington Market – Early Inverse Case

Washington Market Enterprises, Inc. v. City of Trenton, 68 N.J. 107 (1975) is number two on the list. The case is included because it is probably one of the earliest New Jersey inverse condemnation cases alleging a “regulatory taking” where the owner prevailed.  Our Supreme Court framed the issue:  “This case presents the question of... read more

Penn. High Court: Eminent Domain Power Not Required For Liability in Inverse Condemnation Action

In late November 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court addressed a rather interesting question regarding inverse condemnation liability in Hughes v. UGI Storage Co., et al., No. J-69A-2021 (Nov. 29, 2021). There, the Court sought out to answer whether, to be held liable for damages under Pennsylvania’s inverse condemnation statute, an entity must be clothed with... read more

Michigan Supreme Court Allows Flint Water Crisis Victim to Assert an Inverse Condemnation Claim

From 1964 through late April 2014, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (“DWSD”) supplied Flint, Michigan residents with water from Lake Huron. On March 28, 2013, the State Treasurer recommended to the Governor that he authorize the plan to construct an alternative water supply system. Thereafter, on April 16, 2013, the Governor authorized a process... read more

Court of Claims Awards Leaseholder Awards $170M After Inverse Condemnation Trial

A quick hit –  The United States Court of Federal Claims recently awarded two leaseholders over $170M for the taking of their leasehold interests at Dallas Love Field Airport. A full copy of the long opinion is here.  The nascence of the claim goes all the way back to construction of the Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport... read more

Griepenburg v Township of Ocean: Inverse Claim Denied For Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies

Last week, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided a case brought by property owners to challenge a municipal ordinance that “down-zoned” their property. (A full copy of the decision is here).  The property owners lost before the trial court, won before the Appellate Division, but lost in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held:  “We... read more

Undersized Lot Receives Variance From Court to Avoide Inverse Condemnation Claim

While not our prototypical condemnation case, a trial judge in Ocean County aptly reversed a local zoning board in Jerman v. Tp. of Manchester (Docket No. OCN-L-1844-13).  If affirmed the zoning board’s denial of a bulk variance that would have zoned the property into inutility; that is, it would have rendered the property valueless and would thereby... read more

Hoboken Property Owner's Inverse Condemnation Claim Fails

In a two-judge unpublished opinion (full text here), a New Jersey appeals court reviewed a property owner’s claim that the City’s tactic – of threatening acquisition by eminent domain during land use proceedings – was a taking of private property warranting payment of just compensation. (100 Paterson Realty, LLC v. City of Hoboken, Docket No.... read more

Inverse Condemnation Defeated: Wildwood Property Owner Fails to Exhaust Administrative Remedies

On Friday May 18, 2012, a New Jersey appellate court affirmed – and published – the trial court’s decision in Dock Street Seafood, Inc. v. City of Wildwood, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (Law Div. Docket No. L-17056-06).  Plaintiff/appellant owns a vacant parcel of property located at 600 West Baker Ave in Wildwood, N.J. adjacent to its... read more

Prior Owner's Assent Does Not Defeat Inverse Condemnation Claim

Ciaglia v West Long Branch – Inverse Remedy Awarded by Appellate Division Yesterday, the Appellate Division of New Jersey’s Superior Court reversed a trial court that had dismissed a property owner’s lawsuit alleging that West Long Branch’s zoning regulations amounted to an inverse condemnation of an undersized lot created by a subdivision approved by the Planning Board... read more