In 2020, Virginia revised its partition laws by incorporating provisions of the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (“UPHPA”). In doing so, it sought to mitigate the inequitable procedures that often plagued these judicial proceedings – mainly those dealing with partitioning heirs’ property. You may be wondering: What are partition suits? What is heirs’ property? [...]
Williams v. Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 5376 *1 (2021) reviewed whether a Texas trial court had proper subject matter jurisdiction to hear, inter alia, a takings claim under Texas law. Specifically, the court reviewed “whether [the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority’s (“GBRA”) decisions regarding operations of [] hydro dams resulted in particularized injuries to [...]
The U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion on Penneast Pipeline Co., v. New Jersey on June 29, 2021. In its 5-4 decision, one surprisingly not split across party lines, the Court addressed whether it is constitutional for the Federal Government to grant a pipeline company authority to condemn necessary rights-of-way in which a State [...]
The Coronavirus pandemic has propelled this nation and world into unprecedented times. In an attempt to reduce the spread of the virus, many states have imposed mandated shutdowns of nonessential businesses. Are these shutdowns considered compensable takings under eminent domain law? How this question is answered determines whether these business owners are entitled to just [...]
Virginia Senate Bill 951 was passed by the General Assembly and became effective on July 1 of this year. This bill amends Va. Code § 25.1-204, dealing with the bona fide offer in condemnation within the Commonwealth. So, what has changed? Two sentences have been added and one sentence revised. Sub-section (B) saw the addition [...]