Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone
Supporters of property rights will no doubt remember the sad saga of Kelo v. New London. In that case, the Supreme Court permitted the city to use its eminent domain power to condemn the homes of...
View ArticleShould a city be able to use legislative tricks to acquire land cheaply?
The Constitution requires the government to pay just compensation when it seizes private property for public use. However, if the City of Perris has its way, cities will be allowed to pay less than...
View ArticleWhat’s a Public Use? A soccer stadium? A casino?
Two cases in the news this week made me wonder if I read the Fifth Amendment differently than the rest of the country. The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution says “nor shall private property be taken...
View ArticleCity responds to PLF’s CA Supreme Court amicus brief in City of Perris v....
Recently we received a response to our amicus brief, filed in City of Perris v. Stamper, a case pending before the California Supreme Court. The National Federal of Independent Business joined us on...
View ArticleCalifornia appellate court vindicates Proposition 13’s eminent domain protection
Enacted by voters as a ballot initiative in 1978, California’s Proposition 13 gives property owners relief on their tax bills by limiting property taxes to one percent of a property’s value, with a...
View ArticleEminent domain conference in San Francisco in February
For the latest and greatest on eminent domain law, with some regulatory takings law thrown in for good measure, check out the ALI-CLE program, Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation, to be held...
View ArticleWould it be cheaper to just fly every Californian to Japan?
I follow The Onion on Twitter. It is a news parody site, and it is regularly hilarious. Over the weekend it tweeted, “Ambitious High-Speed Rail Plan Will Fly Americans To Japan To Use Their Trains...
View ArticleRIP Martin Anderson
Martin Anderson, who served as an advisor to the Reagan Administration and as a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, died this week at the age of 78. Although many obituaries note his White House...
View ArticlePLF files amicus brief in Oregon “right of access” case
In Oregon—as in most states—a landowner whose property abuts a highway has a right to directly access that road. Thus, an abutting owner is entitled to just compensation when the state acquires the...
View ArticlePresident’s weekly report — March 27, 2015
Eminent domain — New Jersey Supreme Court abandons precedent In this 3-2 decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court upheld the use of eminent domain in 62-64 Main Street v. Mayor and City Council of the...
View ArticleTim the Lawyer talks with Armstrong & Getty about the raisin-seizure case
This morning I talked with Armstrong & Getty about the Supreme Court’s Horne decision. If you missed it, you can listen online here. … Continue reading → The post Tim the Lawyer talks with...
View ArticleA winning hand for the Fifth Amendment
Last month, the Constitution won a hand in an Atlantic City Court. That’s a victory for all Americans. The New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA), a state agency, sought to take...
View ArticleFlorida Supreme Court sends message to government attorneys
Today, the Florida Supreme Court told government attorneys that their client (the government) will pay extra in eminent domain cases if those government attorneys engage in “tactics that cause...
View ArticleLearn all about eminent domain in Austin this January
There’s an excellent ALI-CLE program on eminent domain coming up in Austin on January 28-30 at the Hotel Van Zandt. I’ll be speaking along with a host of experts from around the nation. You can check...
View ArticleThe Los Angeles Rams: a win for taxpayers and property rights?
This morning the Federalist Society published my blog post regarding the recent announcement of the the St. Louis Rams moving to Los Angeles, their home for 49 years. In the post I discuss why taxpayer...
View ArticlePresident’s weekly report — May 20, 2016
Complaint filed to stop “competitors’ veto” in West Virginia PLF attorneys challenged West Virginia’s Competitor’s Veto law on behalf of Arty Vogt, who owns a moving company based in Virginia. Arty...
View ArticleCity of Perris v. Stamper oral argument recap
On Thursday morning, the California Supreme Court heard oral arguments in City of Perris v. Stamper. See our brief in the case here and our previous blog posts on the case here and here for background...
View ArticleWeekly litigation report — June 10, 2016
Another Supreme Court Victory! About two years ago, we filed a petition for certiorari in Kent Recycling v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a case out of the Fifth Circuit where we were challenging a...
View ArticleWeekly litigation report — July 1, 2016
California Supreme Court to take up tax case The right to a jury when the federal government takes your property Appeal filed in mobile home case Loss in gopher frog critical habitat challenge Union...
View ArticleWeekly litigation report — July 9, 2016
The big news around PLF this week was, of course, the announcement of our next President and CEO Steven Anderson. We are all very excited to work with him in the near future. In the meantime, PLF...
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