BLOG: Condemnation Law

Appraiser’s Lack of Support for Adjustments Once Again Dooms Taxpayer’s Appeal

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
27 Jan 2016
Despite presenting an expert witness at trial, another taxpayer failed to convince the NewJersey Tax Court that its property was over assessed.  In Arteaga v. Wyckoff, the taxpayer challenged the original assessments of a single-family home for tax years 2012, 2013, and 2015.  Wyckoff underwent a revaluation for tax year 2015.  The taxpayer filed appeals... Read More

Relevant Parcel Question on the U.S. Supreme Court Docket for 2016

by: Joseph Grather
19 Jan 2016
Last week, the Court granted a cert. petition, which presented the following question: “In a regulatory taking case, does the “parcel as a whole” concept as described in Penn Central Transportation Company v. City of New York, 438 U.S. 104, 130-31 (1978), establish a rule that two legally distinct, but commonly owned contiguous parcels, must... Read More

2016 ALI CLE Eminent Domain Conference Around the Corner

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
13 Jan 2016
This year’s version of the annual ALI CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Conference is just around the corner, and promises to be another good one.  The conference will be held in Austin, Texas, includes soup to nuts coverage of the hottest issues in eminent domain law from around the country, and offers prime networking... Read More

Challenge to Redevelopment Bonds Untimely

by: Joseph Grather
29 Dec 2015
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently affirmed dismissal of a property owner’s challenge to a municipal ordinance that authorized issuance of $6.3M in municipal bonds to fund redevelopment of the famous Edison Battery Building in West Orange, N.J. Opinion here.  The owner’s group filed their challenge 53 days after final publication of the bond ordinance.... Read More

Citizens and Property Owners Unhappy about Proposed Penn East Pipeline

by: Joseph Grather
23 Oct 2015
As reported by Lehigh Valley Live, Penn East submitted its application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in late September to install a gas transmission line that would cross through several New Jersey counties and into Pennsylvania.  The new pipeline is part of Penn East’s Southern Reliability Link and would connect with the Williams-Transco... Read More

Grand Central Sues Over Air Rights Taking

by: Joseph Grather
2 Oct 2015
In retaliatory fashion, the owner of Grand Central Station has sued the City of New York, et al. because of a recent approval that would allow its neighbor to construct a 1,000 foot high office tower.  The New York Times reported on September 28th that the owner “filed a $1.1 billion lawsuit in United States... Read More

Nevada's "Area 51" Neighbors Facing Eminent Domain

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
9 Sep 2015
90 miles north of Las Vegas exists one of U.S. military’s top-secret bases, Area 51.  From novels to movies, Area 51 has garnered the public’s curiosities for decades.  Unbeknownst to the public, however, a local family owning a 400-acre parcel has lived next door to Area 51 since its inception.  For reasons of national security, the government last year initially offered... Read More

Restrictive Covenant in NY Zoning Approval Presents Prima Facie Case of Regulatory Taking

by: Joseph Grather
20 Aug 2015
As reported by our Owners Counsel colleague, Mike Rikon, the New York Appellate Division reversed a Supreme Court ruling that had dismissed a regulatory takings claims in Blue Is. Dev., LLC v Town of Hempstead, 2015 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 6363, 2015 NY Slip Op 06488 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dep’t Aug. 12, 2015).  The property... Read More

Failed Redevelopment Site Succeeds in Tax Appeal

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
29 Jul 2015
Property tax issues arise commonly when a property designated for redevelopment fails to become a reality as originally proposed.  In Seaboard Landing, LLC (“Seaboard”) v. Borough of Penns Grove (“Borough”), the Borough envisioned a redevelopment plan to revive a struggling commercial area along the waterfront on the Delaware River.  In 2003, the Borough issued final site plan... Read More

Underwater Mortgages – At the Bottom of the Sea?

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
23 Jul 2015
Here is an excellent recent article on the propriety of attempting to use eminent domain to “take” underwater mortgages in various places around the country.  Entitled “Eminent Domain for Underwater Mortgages: Already on the Way to the Bottom of the Sea of Bad Ideas” , our Owners Counsel of America colleague Dwight Merriam summarizes what’s wrong with... Read More