- Private Entities are the Target of Eminent Domain Reform. The concerns about eminent domain are generally not about the government snapping up pieces of property, it is private entities snapping up property using eminent domain as a tool
- Public Use Needs to be Reformed.Re-defining public use does not require sweeping constitutional reform
- Look to Justice Thomas Dissent in Kelo for answers. Just like Clarence Thomas says, when the Supreme Court analyzes whether a search warrant can get…
Category Archives: legal trend
58% oppose Giving Land from Feds to States. 4 Points to Inform BLM versus Texas.
58% of people in the West, home to people like the Bundy Family, and independent minds, oppose giving control over land to States.
The details:
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It’s the 6th year of the Conservation in the West poll, sponsored by Colorado College
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60% oppose selling “significant holdings” of public lands, such as national forests, to reduce the budget deficit.
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Only Utahians supported giving states control. 47% to 41% support state control over federal land.
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In Nevada, the epicenter…
Activist Trend: Organizing for Property Rights Gets Boost in Southern State.
Institute for Justice, the group that represented Kelo, is helping North Carolina landowners organize.
What concerns North Caolina Landowners? A small town was looking to redevelop.
Previously on informedintel: Town of 10,000 Tries Redevelopment. Includes Eminent Domain. Lawsuit on Horizon. (November 19, 2015)
A small town redevelopment effort to revitalize vacant industrial property surprised city council members when it was revealed that the Institute for…
How a $244K property payment by a Sewer District became a $12M property owner award + $4M in attorney fees.
What’s this eminent domain case about? New York’s Rockland County Sewer District No. 1 needs to build a new wastewater treatment facility & sought to acquire 21 acres.
What did the court decide? The property is worth $8,100,000 plus $4,762,187 interest, a total of $12,877,061. PLUS, the court awarded $$3,375,000 in legal and appraisal fees.
What did the sewer district estimate the cost of the project to be? $72 Million. After this court case, the project estiamte is $181…
Hess Triangle. How Eminent Domain Battle Created NYC's Smallest Piece of Property. Hint: Check Your Property Surveys Before you Condemn.
What’s Hess Triangle? A triangular piece of property that is 25.5 inches by 27.5 inches by 27.5 inches.
What? How can this two foot triangle exist as private property in NYC? Go to corner of Seventh Avenue and Christopher Street and you’ll see it
How did this small piece of property emerge from an eminent domain fight? In 1910, NYC was extending the Seventh Avenue Subway Line. A property owner named Hess owned a 5 story building in the path of the new subway extension.
What did the…
Eminent Domain Trends in Presidential Election: Trump Loves Justice Thomas. Thomas Doesn't Love Kelo. Trump Longingly Loves Kelo.
In South Carolina Trump shared his opinion of Supreme Court Justices. In short:
- Roberts, not so much love
- Thomas, lots of love
Reason took the opportunity to point a slew of inconsistencies:
- Thomas wrote a strong dissent to the controversial, and much maligned, Kelo decision
- Tomas wrote, “It [the majority opinion] encourages ‘those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development.”
firms’ to victimize the…
- Tomas wrote, “It [the majority opinion] encourages ‘those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development.”
INTERIM Civil Asset Forfeiture Yields $1M per year for 1 City. How 1 City Lost its Revenue & Ignored Reform Laws.
Civil Asset Forfeiture generates more than $1 million in revenue per year for The City of Albuquerque.
Is this $1 Million tied to convicted criminals? No. There were no criminal convictions for any of the affected property owners.
What does Albuquerque use the funding for? It pays the salaries of the people seizing the property.
How did the program in Albuquerque go awry? A city attorney publicly referred to asset forefeiture as a ““gold mine” and property seized through civil…
Lege Trend: Constitutional Right to Attorney Fees in Eminent Domain
A state constitution guarantees attorney fees in eminent domain? Yes, the Florida constitution does.
What’s the goal behind this provision? A landowner should not be placed in a worse position after eminent domain
Can this provision go awry? Some Florida attorneys believe so.
What loophole exists for constitutional protection for attorney fees in eminent domain proceedings? When a condemning entity does not play fair and forces needless and endless litigation. The Florida courts…
What Happens when the Feds & a State Join Forces to Condemn City Owned Property
The Feds are using eminent domain? Where? The EPA supports condemning 87 pieces of city owned property in Margate, New Jersey as part of Governor Christi’s Dune Protection Plan.
Any fireworks from Governor Christi? Yes, he called the city “selfish” for opposing his state beach protection plan
How do the Feds tie into this? Funding for the beach protection is coming from the $3.5 billion Hurricane Sandy aid bill
Art as a Means to Stop Eminent Domain by Pipelines
Art to stop eminent domain, who came up with that? eco-artist Aviva Rahmani’s Blued Trees
What’s the goal of using art to stop eminent domain? To prevent private corporations from gaining eminent domain for natural gas pipelines on private property
How will art stop eminent domain? 1990 Visual Artists Rights Acts (VARA) may provide extra protection to landowners
Cornell Daily Sun | Aviva Rahmani’s Blued Trees & the Fight Against Pipelines