A recent Virginia circuit court opinion in City of Waynesboro v. Hopeman Land Company serves as a cautionary tale for condemning authorities, emphasizing the importance of precision, planning, and adherence to statutory requirements. At the heart of this case was a common municipal objective: stormwater management. The City of Waynesboro identified a parcel of land [...]
In eminent domain proceedings in federal court, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 71.1(h) provides that "the court tries all issues" except for the amount of just compensation, which generally must be decided by a jury if "a party demands one." Appellate courts have not provided much guidance on the procedural aspects of Rule 71.1(h), until [...]
This year's IRWA's Annual Education Conference is set be the best one ever, and that's saying something for a conference that has been running for 71 straight years! The schedule of speakers will provide multiple days of high quality educational material across all aspects of the right of way profession. We're incredibly excited that this [...]
The 2025 Virginia Eminent Domain Conference , this year sub-titled "Furthering the Discussion About What is Working and What Isn't" will again be at the lovely Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia. May 8-9, 2025 Dave Arnold and I will be presenting on two different interesting topics again this year. Dave will be presenting along with [...]
The Court of Appeals of Virginia issued a relatively recent decision in Town of Iron Gate v. Simpson, 82 Va. App. 38 (2024), which is essentially a primer on what not to do as a condemning authority facing an inverse condemnation case. Background of the Case The opinion indicates that Simpson owned property in the [...]
In Barr v. Garten Dev., LLC, the Virginia Court of Appeals considers an appeal involving two adjoining properties and a dispute over whether a subsequent deed extinguished an original right of way grant between the properties. The adjoining properties are owned by the Barrs and Garten Development (Garten). Garten is the dominant estate, and it [...]
When examining the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Act of 1970 (URA), it’s crucial to clarify a common point of confusion: the difference between the Act itself and the accompanying regulations. This distinction is especially important for those involved in relocation efforts, yet many (including my good friend Dave Arnold!) may overlook it. [...]
Article I Section 11 of the Virginia Constitution provides in part that no property shall be taken or damaged except for public use and also provides that it is not for public use if the primary use is for private gain, private benefit, private enterprise, increasing jobs, increasing tax revenue or economic development. The condemnor [...]
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision pertaining to federal jurisdiction over wetlands. The case, known as Sackett v. EPA, 598 U.S. 651 (2023), appears to have reduced federal jurisdiction over wetlands. Now, an even more recent decision called Loper Bright Enters. v. Raimondo, 2024 U.S. LEXIS 2882 (2024) stands to reduce [...]
Eminent domain and right of way entail a constant balance between the public need and private property rights. However, from our perspective, conferences and continuing education courses have in more recent years tended to focus on one side--the landowner’s side--rather than the side where the day-to-day work is performed that gives us infrastructure projects, i.e. [...]