Topic
Conservation Easements
399 published works
Nonprofit Law Prof Blog
Bankruptcy Court Allows Sale of Part of “Property,” Subject to Conservation Easement
In re Strieter, No. Chapter 11, 2015 BL 136480 (Bankr. E.D. Mich. May 11, 2015), involved a conservation easement encumbering the whole of Parcel A and half of Parcel B…
PropertyProf Blog
Cheever & Owley
Federico Cheever (Denver) & Jessica Owley (Buffalo) have posted Enhancing Conservation Options: An Argument for Statutory Recognition of Options to Purchase Conservation Easements (OPCEs) (Harvard Environmental Law Review) on SSRN. …
Nonprofit Law Prof Blog
Montana Trial Court Upholds TNC’s Enforcement of a Conservation Easement
In The Nature Conservancy v. Deep Creek Grazing Ass’n, No. DV 14-015 (Mont. 9th Jud. Dist. Ct., Teton County, Mar. 31, 2015), a Montana trial court held that the owner…
Nonprofit Law Prof Blog
SWF Real Estate v. Comm’r—Special Allocation of Tax Credit Generated by Conservation Easement Donation was Disguised Sale, but Easement Valuation Largely Upheld
In SWF Real Estate, LLC v. Comm'r, T.C. Memo. 2015-63, the Tax Court held that a partnership’s transfer to a 1% partner of 92% of the state tax credit generated…
Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog
Article on Interpreting Conservation Easements
Nancy A. McLaughlin (Robert W. Swenson Professor of Law, S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah) recently published an article entitled, Interpreting Conservation Easements, 29…
Nonprofit Law Prof Blog
Balsam Mountain v. Commissioner—Conservation Easement Authorizing Limited Swaps Not Deductible Under § 170(h)
In Balsam Mountain v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2015-43, that Tax Court held that a conservation easement that authorized the parties, for a period of up to 5 years, to remove…
Nonprofit Law Prof Blog
Conservation Easement Valid Despite Referencing Incorrect Grantor
In Ranch O, LLC v. Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, 2015 WL 795050 (Colo. Ct. App. 2015) (unpublished), the Colorado Court of Appeals held that a conservation easement that mistakenly…
Land Use Prof Blog
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) of the USDA pays landowners not to develop their land. Under the program, landowners enter into contracts with the USDA where they agree to adhere…
Land Use Prof Blog
Do Conservation Easements Always Yield a Public Benefit?
I just stumbled across an interesting case from New Jersey. A church wanted to sell off some lots but need a variance to do so from the local planning department.…
Land Use Prof Blog
Attorney Liability for Poor Conservation Easement Advice?
In a relatively well-known case from Colorado, Alan DeAtley faced criminal charges for his claiming grossly overvalued deductions for conservation easements on his land. Unsurprisingly, DeAtley brought suit against the…