Category Archives: legal trend

4 Reasons Property Owners tout Trans Pecos Pipeline as the next Dakota Pipeline Standoff.

What’s the Trans Pecos Pipeline?  A West Texas pipeline that will deliver natural gas to Mexico & the pipeline cost will be paid by Mexico so it can power electricty plants

What characteristics of the Trans Pecos pipeline that draw parallels with the Dakota Pipeline protest?

  • Landowners talk about court awards in the millions that they won but that are unpaid.
    • The pipeline is appealing the awards.
  • Native Americans are getting involved to protest in Texas
  • The Texas land includes some…

Legal Quagmire: City Wants to use Eminent Domain to Obtain a Utility

The City: Claremont, California

The eminent domain acquisition: The local water utility which the city thinks is charging residents too much

The legal drama: 21 day trial. The Court, in a tentative decision the City didn’t offer facts to back up its right to eminent domain.  Final decision anyday.

Lexology | O’Melveny & Meyers | City of Claremont’s Water System Acquisition Attempt Rejected

Legal Trend. No Eminent Domain for Private Companies. 3 Statements from a Judge.

The project denied eminent domain: An oil pipeline through rural Ohio

What were the judge’s objections?

  • The company pointed to a $237.3 Million economic boon and the court said economic development is not a reason for eminent domain
  • The pipeline provides no direct benefit or service to Ohioans.
  • The common carrier statute that applies to pipelines like this is an unconstitutional infringement on the property rights of Ohioans

Legal Trends in the Rust Belt meet Legislative Trends in the…

Private Property Rights. Inverse Condemnation for the Birds.

How was Florida land effecively taken by regulation? By first limiting development to 1 house per acre, then 1 house per 10 acres, and finally by designating the land a bird rookery. 

What’s happening with the land now?

  • Heirs to the original land owners continue the legal battle
  • The Florida Supreme Court could rule next
  • Legal foundation attorneys representing the landwoners vow to fight to the U.S. Supreme Court

Florida Watchdog | Family asks Florida high court to lift bird ban on…

3 Recommendations for Eminent Domain Reform. Senate State Affairs.

Senate State Affairs Committee Interim Report offers the following recommendations for eminent domain reform:

  • Property Owner must be fairly compensated. Offers are often unfair, below market.
  • Property owners must be able to recover all or a portion of the costs that they incur
  • Amend the landowner bill of rights to:
    • clarify that some property may be included that the condemnor has no legal authority to condemn
    • offers should separate property that the condmenor wants to purchase and an…

3 Private Property Rights Arguments Against Northern City Regulation of Home Sharing

The City: Chicago

The Current Ordinance Status: Enacted. Full effect December 2016. 2 pending lawsuits involvling the Liberty Justice Center and Goldwater Center. 

The private property rights challenges raised against the ordinances:

  • extra tax on home sharing
  • limit on number of units in a building that can be rented through home sharing platform at a given time
  • property hosts must maintain records on guests

Chicago Tribune | Chicago’s Airbnb home-sharing rules are ‘draconian,’…

Legal Trend. No Pre-condemnation Access. +1 State Supreme Court

Requiring that land owners allow precondemnation access to their land for pipelines is going out of fashion.

The latest court to side against pipelines in eminent domain: The West Virigina State Supreme Court

What did the West Virigina Supreme Court have to say? 

  • unconvinced the pipeline serves a public benefit
  • if there is no public benefit, there is no eminent domain and there is no access to land without land owner consent.

Why did the court decide there was no public benefit in the…