BLOG: Court Decisions

Federal Circuit Rejects Takings Claims in Indiana Rails-to-Trails Dispute

by: Michael Realbuto
3 Oct 2025
Earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Court of Federal Claims’ dismissal of takings claims brought by a group of Indiana landowners. ATS Ford Drive Investment, LLC v. United States, 136 F.4th 1066 (Fed. Cir. 2025). The case centered on whether the federal government’s facilitation of a recreational... Read More

Decades-Old Lease Haunts Property Owner in Eminent Domain Case

by: Michael Realbuto
25 Sep 2025
Following a recent decision from the N.J. Appellate Division, the long-running eminent domain saga between Pemberton Township and property owners, Rocco and Antonia Berardi (the “Berardis”), may have finally concluded. See Twp. of Pemberton v. Berardi (Berardi I), 378 N.J. Super. 430 (App. Div. 2005); Berardi v. Twp. of Pemberton (Berardi II), No. A-1973-11 (App.... Read More

U.S. Circuit Court Upholds the Requirement of Just Compensation to Landlords from COVID Eviction Moratoriums

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
8 Jul 2025
On June 6, 2025, a U.S. federal appeals court ruled that the U.S. government may have to face property damage claims by landlords from a COVID-era eviction moratorium. In the case Darby Development Company Inc. et al. v. United States, No. 22-1929, residential property owners sued under the 5th Amendment’s Takings Clause which prevents the... Read More

Supreme Court to Decide if Eviction Moratorium Constitutes Fifth Amendment Taking

by: Michael Realbuto
22 Apr 2025
The United States Supreme Court stands at a pivotal crossroads in property rights jurisprudence as it considers whether to hear a case that could fundamentally reshape the relationship between government emergency powers and private property rights. At issue is whether government-imposed eviction moratorium measures during the COVID-19 pandemic constituted a “taking” under the Fifth Amendment,... Read More