Eminent Domain Report

One of the most vexing aspects of eminent domain for many property and business owners is the fundamental fact that the owner does not get to decide whether to sell the property.  I cannot recall the number of initial client meetings I've had over the years that began with the client asking "How do I stop this from happening?"

In most cases, my clients are disappointed to hear my answer:  "You can't."  But this answer is overly simplified, because there are actually several grounds for preventing the government from condemning property. 

A recent post on the Biersdorf & Associates eminent ...

The County of San Luis Obispo is considering a new way to finance infrastructure improvements -- the creation of a redevelopment agency.  According to a San Luis Obispo Tribune Article, "Redevelopment agency reconsidered," County supervisors have instructed their planning staff to investigate the pros and cons of instituting such an agency.  

County planners noted that a redevelopment agency could be set up to cover most rural communities, and specifically singled out San Miguel and Oceano as areas that could benefit from redevelopment.  While several individuals noted the ...

Just a reminder for all you eminent domain and right of way practitioners still mentally on summer hiatus.  IRWA Chapter 67 (Orange County) starts its new year next week.  The September meeting is Tuesday, September 14, at the Holiday Inn, Santa Ana/OC Airport, located at 2726 South Grand Ave., Santa Ana CA 92705.

The meeting starts with a "meet and greet" at 11:30.  Lunch commences at 12:00.  We will have a lunchtime presentation from John Ellis of Integra Realty Resources in Los Angeles.  He's going to give us an update on the real estate climate here in Southern California, and I've made ...

For those who didn't get enough of littoral property rights, accretion, and avulsion in reading about this summer's Supreme Court decision in Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, there is a new case making its way through the system. 

In Maunalua Bay Beach Ohana 28 v. State of Hawaii, the court analyzed a 2003 Hawaii law that had the effect of transferring ownership of property created by accretion to the state.   In a split decision, the Hawaii Court of Appeal held in 2009 that with respect to property that existed at the time the law went ...

The use of "government stimulus" spending to spur economic growth has been a point of heated political controversy for the past several years.  A proposal outlined by President Obama over the weekend involves spending $50 billion on the nation's transportation infrastructure, focusing on the aging highway system, rail lines, and airports. 

According to a September 7 Wall Street Journal article by Gary Fields, "Obama in Infrastructure Push,"

At a Labor Day rally in Milwaukee, Mr. Obama said the initiative would be part of a larger effort to fix 150,000 miles of roads, lay or rebuild ...

We reported several months ago about the property owner impacted by the expansion of the Everglades National Park petitioning the US Supreme Court to determine how to treat the government's enactment of tougher zoning standards that decrease the value of property which the government may want to acquire in the future.  The issue presented was whether the government's actions must be the primary cause of the precondemnation depression of the property's market value, or whether there must only be a nexus between the government's actions and the depressed market value.

This is an ...

In Los Angeles Unified School District v. Casasola (Aug. 5, 2010), the Court of Appeal examined the interrelationship between recovery of lost business goodwill pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1263.510 and recovery of relocation expenses pursuant to Government Code section 7267 et seq. 

My colleague, Gale Conner, prepared a good summary of the Casasola case detailing the facts and the Court's reasoning.  The bottom line is that the Court held that items that might be recoverable under the Relocation Act cannot be included in a claim for loss of business ...

For anyone looking to spend more time on eminent domain issues, there are two upcoming events you may want to consider. 

• For those looking for a one-day commitment, I recommend the IRWA, Chapter 1 2010 Fall Education Seminar, which is taking place on October 26 at the Quiet Cannon in Montebello.  I don't have the full list of speakers yet, but it's always a good event, and my partner, David Graeler, is Chair again this year. I'll be talking about the interrelationship between goodwill and the Relocation Act, using the recent Casasola opinion as a jumping off point (look for a post about ...

The California Court of Appeal issued an interesting unpublished decision yesterday addressing a number of eminent domain issues, ranging from right to take challenges, entitlement to goodwill, severance damages, and jury instructions.  The case, City of San Luis Obispo v. Hanson, garnered enough attention that several third parties filed Amicus briefs with the Court.

By way of background, the City of San Luis Obispo decided to realign a road partly in order to accommodate a newly approved Costco development.  The realignment required right-of-way acquisition from a property ...

The City of Laguna Woods had been leasing the building it used for City Hall on El Toro Road for a number of years.  In 2005, the City -- apparently tired of leasing the space -- decided to acquire the property by using its power of eminent domain.  After proceeding to trial, a jury determined this week that the fair market value the City is required to pay for the building was $6.43 million -- $2.78 million more than the City had initially offered.

According to an Orange County Register article, "Laguna Woods must pay $6.4 million to take City Hall," the issues that resulted in the ...