States’ Power to Block Pipeline Land Grabs Debated at Supreme Court
Questions from the justices provided little insight into how they might decide the dispute over the taking of land in New Jersey for a pipeline project.
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taking
Condemnation
In a condemnation case relating to a family’s property along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, a federal court in the state granted the federal government’s motion for immediate possession. The family argued the taking discriminates against them because of their opposition to the border wall.
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Supreme Court Unlikely to Block Union Intrusions on Farms
Property owners say that labor drives have disrupted busy harvest operations, and that there are more suitable locations to organize somewhere where workers won’t be distracted.
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High Court Turns Away Hawaii Zoning Dispute, Spurring Thomas Dissent
Justice Clarence Thomas decried the state of Fifth Amendment land-taking precedent in a brief dissent Monday after the Supreme Court refused to hear a Hawaii zoning dispute.
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Should State Pay Businesses Shuttered by Covid Orders? New Mexico Justices to Decide
Businesses like restaurants and hair salons say New Mexico’s shutdown orders amount to a “taking” under the U.S. Constitution — one they should be reimbursed for.
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Judge Hears Big Pharma Case Against Minnesota Insulin Program
A challenge to Minnesota’s effort to put cheap insulin in the hands of impoverished diabetics faced its first hurdle Tuesday in federal court, where a pharmaceutical lobbying group argued for an injunction to prohibit the law’s enforcement.
Read moreCalifornia Labor Intrusions
Two California farms fighting a state law that lets union organizers access their property, with some restrictions, can mount their takings challenge at the U.S. Supreme Court, the justices said Friday.
Read morePresidential Center
The Obama Presidential Center can occupy 20 acres of public land in Chicago’s Jackson Park, the Seventh Circuit ruled, finding the plaintiffs who wish to stop the project do not have a property interest in the land and that the center, with its museum, library, gardens and more, is a use of the land with public benefits.
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Big Pharma Sues to Block Minnesota Insulin Program
A Minnesota law creating an insulin safety net for impoverished diabetics went into effect Wednesday, but it was met with a surprise legal challenge from major manufacturers of the lifesaving hormone.
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New York Landlords Lose Challenge to Eviction Moratorium
New Yorkers with trouble making rent during the coronavirus pandemic have a couple more months of breathing room, with a federal judge upholding Governor Andrew Cuomo’s eviction moratorium on Monday.
Read moreOccupy Seattle
Eleven businesses and three people sued Seattle in a federal class action, claiming its toleration of protesters occupying the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone is an unconstitutional taking and a nuisance that denied the plaintiffs due process.
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Russia Ordered to Pay Owners of Demolished Buildings
Russia must pay damages to a couple whose property was confiscated and demolished to make way for a municipal building, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Tuesday.
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Judge Denies Relief for Downstream Houston Flood Victims
A federal judge dismissed the claims of Houston residents seeking to hold the government liable for flooding their homes with Hurricane Harvey storm water released from two dams, finding there is no constitutional right to “perfect flood control.”
Read moreCharter Schools
The Lake Ridge and Hammond school districts sued Indiana, claiming its law on “the sale or lease of school property for one dollar ($1.00) or not more than the minimum bid” to charter schools is an unconstitutional taking, in Lake County Court.
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Army Corps Found Liable for Upstream Houston Floods
The government is liable for flooding Houston homes with Hurricane Harvey runoff that backed up behind two dams, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, rejecting claims the risk was clearly laid out in public documents years before the storm hit.
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Downstream Houston Flood Victims Want Uncle Sam to Pay Up
Property owners argued in the Houston federal courthouse Wednesday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers knew it would flood downstream homes and businesses when it released water from two dams in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
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No Relief for Family Whose Home Was Destroyed in Police Raid
Affirming summary judgment, the 10th Circuit ruled Tuesday that a Colorado family is not entitled to compensation after a 19-hour standoff between police and a shoplifter left their home uninhabitable.
Read moreTrial Over Hurricane Flooding in Houston Wraps Up
Is it inevitable that another massive storm like Hurricane Harvey will bring disastrous flooding to Houston? Seeking to avoid government liability for home flooding caused by two Houston-area dams retaining runoff from the historic deluge, a Justice Department attorney argued Friday the probability of another Harvey is “incredibly low.”
Read moreFlood Control Takings Claim
The federal government must face Louisiana landowners’ claims relating to land the Army Corps of Engineers took after Hurricane Katrina, a federal court ruled. The landowners claim the government took their property without compensation by altering shoreline along Lake Pontchartrain to improve the flood control system for New Orleans.
Read moreSupreme Court Paves Route to Sue Over Cemetery Law
Town officials who traipsed on a Pennsylvania woman’s land, hunting for unmarked graves, could be on the hook for federal damages, the Supreme Court ruled Friday.
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