Property Law

A short post today, since we’re butting up against a deadline, and are attending a conference most of the day (don’t you hate that when that happens?). But we have to share with you a recent Ipse Dixit podcast, which features property lawprof Lee Anne Fennell, talking about her recently-published book, which should be of great interest to dirt lawyers and scholars:  In this episode, Lee Anne Fennell, Max Pam Professor of Law at…
Hat tip to Benjamin Rubin at the California Eminent Domain Report for writing up a recent opinion issued by the California Court of Appeal, Greene v. California Coastal Comm’n, No. B293301 (Oct. 9, 2019). We won’t repeat his detailed analysis, but are posting the opinion here only to point out what we think is a critical flaw in the court’s ruling.  In sum, the court concluded that the California Coastal Commission was within its…
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There’s nothing terribly novel in the Texas Court of Appeals’ opinion in City of Houston v. The Commons at Lake Houston, Ltd., No. 14-18-00664-CV (Oct. 15, 2019), but we highlight it here for a couple of reasons.  First, the court’s holding that a regulatory takings claim was not ripe because the property owner had not sought a permit — and as a consequence, the city had not yet reached a “final decision” whether the…
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We’ve been following the ongoing efforts to settle the Clean Water Act case involving the County of Maui with some amusement. Why, you ask? Part of it is that we like municipal law. Perhaps sad. But true. But we’re amused mostly because the case’s current posture illustrates the dual principles of “be careful what you ask for,” and the legal corollary of one of Murphy’s Rule of Combat (“No plan ever survives first contact”): that…
We’re in California, where we’re playing Lincoln Lawyer for a few days because in its infinite wisdom, the utility company has preemptively shut off power for one week due to the threat of wildfire inverse condemnation lawsuits. We’re actually playing Chevy Tahoe Lawyer, because we’re literally working out of a truck since that’s the only place with power, and we can at least drive to where there’s a (weak) connection to the developed world. …
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One should never be surprised, we suppose, when the Supreme Court denies a cert petition due to the daunting statistics, but we really thought that maybe the third time was a charm for the quick-take-by-preliminary-injunction issue, and that the Givens petition had a real chance. The petition was strong, the issue (in our opinion) was compelling: can private pipeline companies obtain immediate precondemnation possession of land and start construction of a pipeline even though…
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Here is a transcript are a transcript of the remarks I delivered today at the 2019 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference. I was honored to join lawprof Henry Smith and Florida Supreme Court Justice (ret.) Ken Bell (who authored the Florida court’s opinion in Stop the Beach Renourishment which was challenged as a “judicial taking”) to speak about “Public Resources and Private Rights” (moderated by Professor Katherine Mims Crocker). After paying our respects to 2019 …