Eminent Domain Report

For those of you interested in hearing from eminent domain experts across the United States on hot topic condemnation issues, I hope you'll join us at the ALI-CLE's 32nd Annual Eminent domain and Land Valuation Litigation Program.  The Program will take place February 5-7, 2015, at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco.  I'll be presenting on a panel with Dwight Merriam (Connecticut) and Mark Murkami (Hawaii) on "Denominators and Bright Lines:  The Search for the Relevant Parcel in Eminent Domain and Regulatory Takings."

If seeing me doesn't get you interested (understandably), hopefully this fantastic list of topics and speakers will:

• Eminent Domain National Law Update – Amy Brigham Boulris, Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P.A., Miami (and Robert Thomas)

• Five Simple Rules for Partial Takings – Christian F. Torgrimson, Pursley Friese Torgrimson, Atlanta

• When Fourth Amendment Seizures Become Fifth Amendment Takings – Herbert W. Titus, William J. Olson, P.C., Vienna, Virginia

• Running the Case: A Team Approach to Working with All the Players –  William E. Ryan, Michael W. Ryan, and Lauren E. Ryan, Ryan & Ryan, Chicago

• When Judges Overstep Their Authority: What To Do in the Courtroom – Edward G. Burg, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, Los Angeles

• Condemnors’ Special Considerations When Using Outside Counsel –David L. Arnold, Pender & Coward, P.C., Suffolk, Virginia, and Brandee L. Caswell, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, Denver

• Pipelines and Immediate Possession: The Looming Circuit Split Controversy – Justin Hodge, Johns Marrs Ellis & Hodge LLP, Houston and Jeremy P. Hopkins, Waldo & Lyle, P.C., Norfolk, Virginia

• Contaminated Land: The Impact on Use, Utility, Value and Mitigation – Darius W. Dynkowski, Ackerman Ackerman & Dynkowski P.C., Cleveland; Thomas L. Stokes Jr., Stokes Environmental Associates, Norfolk, Virginia

•  Equal Access to Justice Act: Recovering Attorney's Fees if Uncle Sam Condemns –  Stephen J. Clarke, Waldo & Lyle, P.C., Norfolk, Virginia

• The Red-headed Step Child: Overcoming Reluctance to Take Relocation Cases ­– Jaclyn Casey Brown, Lewis Roca Rothgerber LLP, Denver, Robert Denlow,Denlow & Henry, St. Louis, and Michael Sullivan, Range West Consultants LLC, Prescott, Arizona

• What's Wrong with the Law of Valuation in Eminent Domain: Four Rules to Change – John C. Murphy, Murphy & Evertz, LLP, Costa Mesa, California

• How Jury Instructions Frame Your Case – Andrew Prince Brigham, Brigham Property Rights Law Firm PLLC, Jacksonville, Florida and Jack R. Sperber, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, Denver

• Challenging the Take – Dana Berliner, Director, Institute for Justice, Arlington, Virginia, Janet Bush Handy, Deputy Counsel, Assistant Attorney General, Maryland State Highway Administration, Baltimore and Matthew W. Fellerhoff, Strauss Troy Co., LPA, Cincinnati

• How to Simplify Valuation in the Courtroom – Leslie A. Fields, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, Denver, Susan Macpherson,Senior Litigation and Jury Consultant, NJP Litigation Consulting, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Richard Marchitelli, MAI, Executive Managing Director, Valuation and Advisory, Cushman & Wakefield, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Joe Waldo

• Proving Your Case: Staying Focused – H. Dixon Montague, Vinson & Elkins LLP, Houston

• Entry Statutes: A Taking or a Free Pass? – Norman E. Matteoni, Matteoni O’Laughlin & Hechtman, San Jose, California, Edward V. O'Hanlan, Robinson & Cole LLP, Stamford, Connecticut, and Michael F. Yoshiba, Richards, Watson & Gershon, P.C., Los Angeles

• Valuation of Temporary Construction Easements – Keith M. Babcock, Lewis, Babcock & Griffin, LLP, Columbia, South Carolina and Randall A. Smith, Smith & Fawer, L.L.C., New Orleans

• Severance Damages in Partial Takings Cases: Lessons Learned and Future Considerations – Anthony F. Della Pelle, McKirdy & Riskin P.A., Morristown, New Jersey

• Cross Examining Appraisers: Taking Apart the Key Witness – Jill S. Gelineau, Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C., Portland, Oregon and Michael Rikon, Goldstein, Rikon, Rikon & Houghton, P.C., New York

• Dropping the Bomb: Challenging Highest and Best Use – Mark D. Savin, Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., Minneapolis

• Opening and Closing: Laying Out Your Case and Bringing It Home – Joseph P. Suntum, Miller, Miller & Canby, Chartered, Rockville, Maryland

• Update on Regulatory Takings Jurisprudence: Decisions that Hit Close to Home – Michael M. Berger, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, Los Angeles

• Novel Takings Theories: Testing the Boundaries of Property Rights – James S. Burling, Director of Litigation, Pacific Legal Foundation, Sacramento

• National Forum: Issues Facing Practitioners Around the Nation and Discussion of Stop and Seizures - plenary session, open forum

Many thanks to Robert Thomas for inviting me to present with this esteemed group of eminent domain attorneys across the United States (and for letting me crib from his blog, www.inversecondemnation.com, with all the details of the Program).