Eminent Domain Report

As reported in the Willits News, Caltrans is going forward with public workshops for the Sherwood Road Intersection Project, one of four "child projects" of the Willits Bypass project, which is anticipated to increase the traffic on Sherwood Road.

But Willits residents won't be seeing improvements any time soon, because construction is dependent on the opening of the Willits bypass, a segment of US 101 through Mendocino County that has been in the works since the 1950s.  And construction of the bypass is currently suspended while Caltrans and the Army Corps of Engineers work ...

The Oxnard Union High School District began Eminent Domain procedures to acquire property owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The property is required for construction of a right-turn lane for the new Rancho Campana High School, scheduled to open in time for the 2015-2016 school year. According to reports, the City of Oxnard set a deadline of June 30, 2014 for the district to acquire the property or begin the eminent domain process. Although the parties are currently engaged in negotiations, the district initiated eminent domain procedures in order to meet the ...

As reported in Caltrans District 11's press release, there is much good news coming out of California Transportation Commission's meeting last week.  First, thanks to a new state budget that increased transportation funding by $351 million, CTC revised its budget for SHOPP projects to $2.4 billion.

Local projects also received good news with CTC's award of $510 Million to 83 transportation projects around the state.  As reported by Progressive Railroading, several rail projects received significant funding, which will hopefully allow those projects to proceed to ...

Just a few months ago, the California Court of Appeal handed down a significant decision in Property Reserve v. Superior Court which nearly eviscerated public agencies' ability to make use of the statutory "right of entry" procedure to gain access to private property to conduct any significant investigations and testing.  The Court held that any notable physical intrusion onto private property constituted a taking, meaning the public agency needed to proceed with an eminent domain proceeding.  The decision caused an uproar among public agencies across the state.  Well, pump the ...

Along with my colleagues Brad Kuhn, Ben Rubin, and Katherine Contreras, I'm here in Hartford at the IRWA Annual Education Conference.  It's been an interesting few days as we discuss eminent domain issues in the shadow of New London, Connecticut, battle ground of the infamous Kelo decision.  

I spoke yesterday on a panel moderated by Orell Anderson, alongside attorneys Jim Ray and Jeff Pollack.  Our topic involved how contamination issues are handled in litigation.  It was a great session, even though it did not go at all as we planned it.  The extremely engaged audience consumed nearly the ...

This week marks the nine-year anniversary of the Kelo v. City of New London decision.  Since I've been practicing as an eminent domain attorney, Kelo is unquestionably the most well-known and stirring court opinion, creating widespread reform to the use of eminent domain across the country -- even on the opposite coast in California.  Last time I checked, about 45 states had passed some sort of eminent domain reform in response to the Kelo decision.

If you're interested in learning more about the Kelo decision, stay tuned for the film Little Pink House, which is being produced in ...

On June 10, 2014, President Obama signed into law the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014, which, among other things, streamlines the U.S Army Corps of Engineers' infrastructure authorization process, accelerates project delivery, and authorizes federal funding for a variety of projects, including projects in California.  Among these California projects is the San Clemente Shoreline project, which includes construction and continuing maintenance of coastal protection measures along the San Clemente shoreline. 

Under the proposal that ...

Eminent domain litigation can be expensive.  Not just the cost of acquiring the property (which is valued based on its highest and best use, and the "highest price" a willing buyer would pay), but the attorneys' fees, expert appraisal fees, and court costs all add up as well.  We're seeing the impact of such costs in the City of Adelanto, where the City has changed course on its plans to acquire a property by eminent domain.  

According to Brooke Self's article in the Victorville Daily Press, Adelanto halts eminent domain efforts, the City of Adelanto once planned to use eminent domain to ...

In June of last year, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Horne v. Department of Agriculture holding that California raisin handlers could assert a takings claim as an affirmative defense to an enforcement action filed by the United States.  I am happy to point out that in our analysis of the Supreme Court's decision, we explained that "[n]o court has yet found that the Hornes were subject to an unconstitutional taking; rather, the Supreme Court merely held that the jurisdictional argument relied on by the Ninth Circuit to avoid a decision on the merits was ...

Last week I attended the 2014 California Passenger Rail Summit where industry leaders met to discuss the modernization and integration of passenger rail service in California. While the California High Speed Rail train was an important element, to me the main takeaway was the vision of statewide rail connectivity benefiting all of California’s communities.

Several regional government representatives spoke about the success of existing corridors, such as the Capitol Corridor and the expanding LOSSAN corridor, as well as emerging corridors such as the Salinas Rail ...