Planning and constructing large public works projects can take years. When those projects will impact private property, owners are left in a difficult situation, as the cloud of condemnation hangs over their property, making...more
4/18/2023
/ California ,
Construction Project ,
Damages ,
Eminent Domain ,
Infrastructure ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Liability ,
Precondemnation ,
Private Property ,
Public Projects ,
Public Works ,
Transportation Corridor
Brad Kuhn was quoted extensively in the Daily Journal article “Century-Old Doctrine Haunts Fire Litigation.” The article provides an overview of how developments in inverse condemnation that occurred in 2019 pose numerous...more
1/21/2020
/ Commercial Bankruptcy ,
CPUC ,
Equipment Failure ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Just Compensation ,
Liability ,
PG&E ,
Private Property ,
Property Damage ,
Property Owners ,
Public Utility ,
State Law Remedies ,
Utility Rates ,
Wildfires
Eminent domain is typically used for roads, utilities, schools, and even airports, but in California, it is quite unusual (perhaps even unheard of) to use eminent domain for space travel. ...more
1/16/2020
/ Airports ,
Condemnation ,
Eminent Domain ,
Environmental Policies ,
Land Owners ,
Private Property ,
Property Owners ,
Real Estate Development ,
Real Estate Market ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Vacant Properties
Thanks to all of you who were able to attend Nossaman’s Coastal Law Conference last week. If you missed the event, I provided an update on sea-level rise, managed retreat, and potential eminent domain / regulatory takings...more
9/16/2019
/ Beachfront Properties ,
Best Practices ,
California Coastal Commission ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Eminent Domain ,
Precondemnation ,
Private Property ,
Property Owners ,
Public Trust Doctrine ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Takings ,
Rising Sea Levels ,
Waterfront Properties
On August 15, 2019, the California Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”) issued its first inverse condemnation opinion in more than 22 years in the case City of Oroville v. Superior Court of Butte County, Case No. S243247...more
8/20/2019
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Municipalities ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Private Property ,
Property Damage ,
Property Owners ,
Public Agencies ,
Public Improvement Projects ,
Public Utility ,
Sewer Systems ,
State and Local Government ,
Strict Liability
Many public agencies and utilities have easements for water or gas pipelines or electric transmission lines. Those easements typically contain express rights to construct, operate, and maintain the facilities, including...more
4/29/2019
/ Appeals ,
Governmental Liability ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Just Compensation ,
Private Property ,
Public Agencies ,
Public Improvement Projects ,
Real Estate Market ,
Right of Way ,
Right to Repair ,
Trees
When the government physically takes or occupies property without first going through the rigorous procedural requirements under California eminent domain law, usually it’s a clear-cut case of inverse condemnation liability. ...more
Many states have enacted eminent domain reform since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London, which broadly defined “public use” to include the government’s acquiring property for another private...more
Infrastructure projects take years to develop: the environmental review, funding, design, procurement, and construction of a public project is time consuming in any state, but even more so in California given the strict...more
12/12/2017
/ Eminent Domain ,
Infrastructure ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Private Property ,
Public Projects ,
Railways ,
Real Estate Development ,
Residential Real Estate Market ,
State and Local Government ,
Surface Transportation ,
Takings Clause ,
Trains ,
Transportation Industry ,
Urban Planning & Development
When public agencies analyze a potential public project, they often need to gain access to private property for surveys, testing, and to otherwise investigate whether a particular property is suitable for a planned project. ...more
When public agencies analyze a potential public project, they often need to gain access to private property for surveys, testing, and to otherwise investigate whether a particular property is suitable for a planned project. ...more
For the last two-plus years, we have been waiting for guidance from the California Supreme Court on whether public agencies could utilize the statutory “right of entry” procedure to gain access to private property to conduct...more
7/22/2016
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Condemnation ,
Damages ,
Eminent Domain ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Jury Trial ,
Just Compensation ,
Precondemnation ,
Private Property ,
Public Agencies ,
Right of Entry
For decades, California public agencies have utilized a statutory "right of entry" procedure to gain access to private property to conduct investigations and testing before deciding whether to move forward with acquiring the...more