Land Use & Property Rights

Naturally, everyone should look to Texas when trying to solve problems.  Aljazeera did while forecasting how Pennsylvania will handle pipeline common carrier use of eminent domain. In the last few years, the Texas Supreme Court has been rolling back the power of eminent domain in favor of stronger private property rights. The effects of the Tea Party are pervasive, and private property rights are de rigueur.  [Aljazeera America]

The AgriLaw Center at Texas A&M has produced a checklist for those negotiating pipeline easements.[A&M Agriculture Law Blog]

Houston Business Journal names land rights, a top legal issue in energy.  

Texas Tribune & KETK quote a South Texas College Law Professor, who says the country will be watching Texas’ eminent domain cases. Focuses on a Texas landowner, who in March received a jury award 20 times greater than the condemning entity’s offer.

Bipartisan support for private property rights and opposition to eminent domain. Bipartisanship lives.  [Hays Co. Democratic Party] 

Drought is Gaelic for “Must move water to needed areas.” Tea Party is modern English for “We love private property. We detest eminent domain.” What happens when drought and Tea Party meet? Is it love at first sight? No. Its a water infrastructure quagmire. [National Eminent Domain Blog (Quoting the Ft. Worth Star Telegram)]

Nebraska farmers plant corn to protest a pipeline. Interesting logic if the corn is processed into ethanol and transported via pipeline. [Houston Chronicle]

An issue brewing in Texas Courts has been held unconstitutional by an Appellate Court in California. The Third Appellate District Court of Appeal ruled in Property Reserve, Inc. v. Super. Ct. of San Joaquin County that pre-condemnation entry statues violate California’s taking clause. It’s a legal battle currently brewing in Texas.   [Fox Rothschild LLP]

Supporting eminent domain breeds political attack ads.  Iowa gubernatorial candidate Jack Hatch(D)  is the target of Republican Governor Association ads attacking Hatch’s support of eminent domain. Hatch is a real estate developer who is targeted for “his support of eminent domain.” His opponent is Terry Branstad (R).[Ad Script: The Des Moines Register]

Condemning land owned by a corporate entity gets more complicated when the employees sue to intervene. I would have thought land was plentiful in Montana, but such is not the case.  [ABC/Fox Montana]

A potential precursor to the Bureau of Land Management tussle with Texas, the U.S. government has filed an eminent domain suit against California. A developer acquired land at a federal auction. He wants to do what he does- redevelop, but the street leading to the area needs improvement. The Feds are claiming eminent domain to upgrade a road for its building and any other related purpose, including a sale of government land.  [San Jose Mercury News]

One Odessa is growing, the other Odessa may be facing Russian troops. Odessa, Texas is growing. A convention center and hotel development is eyed to spur economic growth in its quiet downtown. With a disinclination to use eminent domain, the fate of downtown redevelopment is firmly in the hands of business owners. [CBS7KOSA]

What happens to cause a jury award to exceed an initital offer by more than $2 million?

According to lawyers its a message that jurors want pipelines to know how much damage they cause land owners.

Peregrine Pipeline Co., L.P. v. Eagle Ford Land Partners, LP, No. E-2007-00046

TPPF is on the case in 2015.

What do you make of the Nevada rancher who grazed his cattle on federal lands for several decades? Do you think the rancher has an adverse possession claim? estoppel? Was the seizure of cattle in the midst of armed Nevadans Constitutional? [Washington Post]

The motion for re-hearing filed this week in Crawford Family v. Keystone  was wild, right? Courts misinterpreting the Texas Legislature; culminating in “absurd results.” Say it isn’t so.

Be happy Texas isn’t California where pre-condemntation surveying and impact testing took a hit. If a condemning entity wants onto land to look around, they have to condemn it first according to a new Appellate Ruling that halted the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. California Supremes will have the ultimate word. [Property Reserve Inc. et. al. v. Department of Water Resources et. al]

Maryland is threatening eminent domain to claim land used by House of Cards, the Award winning Netflix political series. Frank Underwood, the slippery protagonist, would not be amused. [Washington Post]