Category Archives: legal trend

3 Economic Impacts to City of New London, Post-Kelo.

  • The land taken for the infamous Kelo case, remains largely undeveloped and thus not an increased tax revenue source
  • The job creator, Pfizer, left before its property tax exemption expired, and would have increased its taxes by 400%
  • New London lost 1,500 jobs when Pfizer left

Legal Solutions via Reuters | TODAY IN 2005: SCOTUS DECIDES KELO V. CITY OF NEW LONDON

Sharing Economy. Home Share Regulations. Austin Lawsuit. Be Informed. 5 Bits Intel.

Who filed suit against the City of Austin short term rental ordinance? Texas Public Policy Foundation

What’s the goal of TPPF?  No licenses for property owners who lease out property for less than 30 days

What 2 constitutional rights are alleged in the lawsuit? The Right to Assemble. The Right to Privacy. 

How does TPPF address the argument that short term rentals are nuisances? That the city data does not support the city’s claim that the nuisances warrant special regulation

How…

INTERIM. Legal Trend. Improvement District Sues TXDOT. Win Increases Value by $3 million. 3 Key Points.

Why did the East Montgomery County Improvement District sue TXDOT? The board thought it was important to show a jury the loss of value in the land:

  • lost a great deal of functionality as a large event community center
  • Condemned property  included a parking lot that affects functionality
  • The State’s proposed remediation parking plan was inadequate to serve the district’s needs or that of the community
  • Condemned Property prohibits expansion of the districts education wing

What was…

TREND. No Eminent Domain for Pipelines. 4 Points from the Washington Post.

Lots of dollars going into pipeline investment.

  • U.S. has the largest netowrk of pipelines.  more than 2.5 million miles of pipes
  • High Annual Investment. American petroluem Institute says average annual investment will be above $80 billion until 2020

This issue unites Rs and Ds.  Liberal enviromentalists join with libertarian leaning propety rights advocates

Its made an impact:

  • 2 states, SC and GA, have passed prohibitions on pipelines using eminent domains
  • Multiple courts have sided…

Local TREND: Owner Builds. City Takes Part of Owner's Land in Exchange. 4 Pieces of Intel to Keep you Informed:

Which city is trading building permits for land? The City of Perris, California

What was the city’s policy? Its called a dedication requirement. Here’s how it works:

  • Property owner wants to build on their property.
  • Property owner needs permits.
  • City takes part of your land when you get your building permit

Why is the City of Perris taking land when permits are issued?

  • To suppress the fair market compensation value of land
  • Later, the city will take more of the owner’s land via eminent…

INTERIM. Kelo Film at Cannes. Eminent Domain Movie in France. US Theaters Later this Year.

Little Pink House, a film starring an Oscar nominee, tells the story of Suzette Kelo and her eminent domain fight against the City of New London, CT.

 “This film tells the real-life story of Susette Kelo, a blue-collar woman who dared to stand up against white-collar powerbrokers, and Susette’s inspirational story is conveyed with power and grace by the wonderfully talented Catherine Keener.”

Theatrical release will be late 2016. 

Northernstars | News from Cannes 

3 Property Owner Points. Waller County. High Speed Rail. Pre condemnation Access.

Will eminent domain be used by Texas Centeral Rail to build its Dallas-Houston high speed rail?  Only if deals cannot be reached

How did property owners in Waller County react?

  • Waller County Judge Trey Duhon: “This is a huge eminent domain issue. Texas is a huge private property right state.” 
  • A property owner turned away a precondemnation surveyor on his property & mentions their have target practice on their property
  • Reports are that deals will never come.

High Speed Rail is…

Legal Trend. 3 Markers to Support Eminent Domain from the East.

State courts in which state are grappling with eminent domain for a pipeline over landowner objections? Pennsylvania

What 3 considerations did the judge list in approving eminent domain to move forward?

  • Declaration of Taking complies with state law
  • Pipeline’s condemnation plans are “sufficient to properly identify the disputed acreage”
  • Pipeline is financially stable to pay for any potential damages

Daily Item | Judge upholds eminent domain for PPL

Legal Trend. Property Rights. Sovereign Immunity. Deer Breeders v. TPWD Wasting Disease Enforcement.

The property right: The Business of Deer Breeding

The lawsuit: Deer breeders sued the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department in Feburary 2015 over the taking of their property 

What was the property taking alleged by the property owners? The culling of the deer population was tantamount to a taking of private property by eminent domain

What happened in the lawsuit? TPWD claimed sovereign Immunity & the state district judge non-suited the case.

San Antonio Express News via the Chronic…

Legal Trend at SCOTUS: Regulatory Takings. 3 Key Informed Intel.

What case before the U.S. Supreme Court is about regulatory takings? Murr v. Wisconsin, No. 15-214

What happened to the property owner to spark this lawsuit?

  • Property owners owned 2 adjacent, but separate, 1 acre lots
  • A County Ordinance prohibits the sale or development of adjacent lots, if 1 lot is less than an acre
  • The Property Owners said it prevented them from enjoying and using their land, and prohibited the sale of 1 of the acres
  • The Court said, we have to consider both lots as…