- About 50% of states allow landowner owners to recover attorney fees in successful eminent domain challenges
- 85% of land owners accept the final offer
- Texas Civil Justice Leage found that 50% of landowners would go to court if they could be awarded attorney fees on a successful result
- Florida which permits attorney fees awards has not experienced any of the negative results
- 77% of land owners who take their eminent domain case to court receive 20% or more than the final offer
Monthly Archives: May 2017
3 Points from Eminent Domain Pits Property Rights vs. Energy
Background for article: A land owner who was offered less than $50,000 for mile-long swath of pasture and oak trees that abuts the family cemetery, and a commissioners court awarded more than $600,000.
How the article sets up land owners v. energy:
- Landowners claim that not allowing a land owner who prevails to be awarded attorney fees “provides incentives for utilities, pipeline companies and government entities to undervalue properties in eminent domain takings”
- Energy industry argument…
4 Points. Bill Protects Private Property on San Marcos River.
SB 965 (2017) by Zaffirni would:
- Counties along the river will be able to approve the creation of water and safety zones
- The water & safety zones can impose fees of up to $4 per person
- The fees would support services such as rental of recreation equipment, shuttle service or ingress or egress service
- Due to limited law enforcement the water and safety zones would serve to protect land owners along the San Marcos River
House Sponsor: Cyrier
Private Property Rights v. 2nd Amendment Rights. The Loophole in the East.
State: Virginia
How are private property rights and gun rights butting heads? A retirement community is seeing gunfire from a neighboring agricultural land area on which the owner fires his guns
What is the loophole in the code? landowners can fire their weapons on their land at pleasure “on any private property in a “basement, cellar, or target range,””
LEGAL TREND. TX Judge Enjoins Pre-condemnation Access Surveys
The legal fight: Texas Central Rail and Grimes County
The court: 506th District Court in Texas
The judge’s words: The defendants (Texas Central Partners) and their agents are permanently enjoined from performing surveys or other studies which damage, alter or impair county maintained rights of way,”
What Grimes County says it does: prevents Texas Central Rail from exercising precondemantion surveys & Texas Central Rail does not have eminent domain authority
What Texas Central Rail says it…
-1 Sunshine State Fails to Pass Home Sharing Legislation. No Local Preemption.
Cities in Florida rejoice that the Legislature failed to pass statewide short term home rental legislation.
The bill would have preempted local ordinances on short term home rentals.
Sarasota Herald Tribune | Vacation rental bill dies, but sponsor pledges to bring it back
LEGAL TREND. Flipping Right of Way Property. Eminent Domain Compensation. What you Need to Know from Dallas.
The alleged crimes: “fraud by getting inside information from the Texas Department of Transportation to buy cheap land alongside Interstate 35E and then flip it to the state at inflated prices”
How was the land value increased? land underdevelopment was considered to be a higher value
The “profit” generated by these sales to TXDOT? $12.6Million
Eminent Domain Hearing in Nebraska Results in Threats of Civil Disobedience.
State & Pipeline: Keystone XL in Nebraska
What is the hearing about: Whether the pipeline can be granted eminent domain authority
What happened at the 10 hour hearing:
- Allowing for eminent domain, according to private proeprty rights supporters would result in protests that “would make the mass protests that accompanied the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota look like a “dress rehearsal.”
With how many of the landowners has the pipeline reached an agreement? 90% of the landowners have…
Business Trend. Hydrogen Superhighway Avoids Eminent Domain
How does this project seek to avoid eminent domain? The hydrogen superhighway proposed in Michigan will elevate the superhighway, limiting the need for access roads.
What will the superhighway carry?
- vehicles for public transit
- individual automobiles
- standard ISO freight containers
- an embedded hydrogen distribution pipeline system
Texas Eminent Domain Opponents. Private Property Rights Advocates Hit Talk Radio. Their point:
Private property rights groups say the eminent domain bills of the Texas Legislature are too watered down to support.
The bills do not protect propety owners by not:
- providing a guarantee of a fair market value for land owners
NewsTalk 710 | A Setback On Eminent Domain Reform