Do Takings Claims Survive Transfer of Title?
Read an interesting opinion by a California trial court dismissing an inverse condemnation action.NCP Imperial v. L.A. County, 2022 Cal. Super. LEXIS 60513 An inverse condemnation action alleges that private property has been taken for public use without just compensation. A prevailing plaintiff gets a condemnation valuation case. The majority of the “inverse” opinions I...
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Fear of Taking and Allegations of Conspiracy Not Enough to Stop Redevelopment Designation
This recent Third Circuit Court of Appeals opinion stemmed from the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiff’s Complaint in Lieu of Prerogative Writ. Merrick Wilson, Academy Hill, Inc., and River Valley Heights Corp. (“Plaintiffs”) brought this action challenging the City of Lambertville’s resolution (100-2018) declaring an area that included Plaintiffs’ property as “in need of redevelopment.”...
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4th Circuit: State Sovereign Immunity Bars a Takings Claim in Federal Court when Remedies are Still Available in State Court
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Zito v. North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission) addressed whether a Fifth Amendment takings claim against the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission (the “Commission”) is barred by State sovereign immunity. The Pacific Legal Foundation, an organization that has successfully argued many property rights...
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U.S. Supreme Court’s Emphatic “Take That!” To CDC Eviction Moratorium
Yesterday, the US Supreme Court issued a per curiam opinion which finally (hopefully) ended the ping pong match that had been underway for many months concerning the validity of the federal eviction moratorium, which had been in place since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The moratorium was first imposed by Congress in March 2020...
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Eminent Domain in a Nutshell
Eminent domain has two different manifestations. Most exercises of eminent domain involve takings initiated by government agencies or, in some cases, public utilities such as power or pipeline companies, of privately owned property. This often entails the seizure of land and buildings, as well as the creation of easements and other interests in property. According...
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Is COVID-19 “Shutdown” Compensation Due Under Disaster Control Act? And Who Gets To Decide?
An interesting case arose in our home vicinage – Morris & Sussex – involving a small business owner’s challenge to Governor Murphy’s COVID-19 “shutdown” orders. JWC Fitness v. Governor Murphy: The complaint was filed about a month ago and was subsequently dismissed by Assignment Judge Stuart Minkowitz on jurisdictional grounds. Judge Minkowtiz held that jurisdiction...
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COVID Eviction Freezes – Who Is Supposed To Pay?
Yesterday, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued what is perhaps its most far-reaching order concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. The order, available here, was not an order concerning travel, immunization, or other health-related concerns tied to the pandemic, but rather an order seeking to halt evictions of residential tenants on a...
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NJ Appellate Court: Deed Not Needed For Substitute Access
A New Jersey appellate court recently held that a condemnation creating an easement for alternative highway access to support abutting property was not required to be deeded to an abutting owner. Amba Corporation vs. State by Comm’r of Transp. A-4765-17T2, decided July 24, 2020. The plaintiff in Amba operated a motel in Bellmawr Township with...
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LANDLORDS ASSEMBLE… TO BATTLE RENT CONTROL ORDINANCES!
This week’s COVID-19 related hot topic: landlord’s assembling to fight rent control measures in New Jersey. Montclair Township and Union City both recently passed ordinances to implement rent control measures leading to the pending matters. Montclair Rent Control Ordinance In Montclair, a number of landlords joined together as the Montclair Property Owner’s Association (“Montclair Assoc.”...
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Property Rights Trampled by COVID-19
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida just denied a temporary injunction to a group of beachfront property owner’s suing to enjoin a governmental Order that temporarily and totally denied their use and enjoyment of private property. The Order denied access to the owners private beach. If you have 5 minutes,...
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