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 [...]
Devillier v. Texas is largely about a procedural nuance, but the pictures contain a message for people in right of way that matters even if the procedural nuance involved doesn't change much day to day. The eponymous Mr. DeVillier along with more than a hundred other parties to this U.S. Supreme Court Case own property [...]
We just came back from a meeting of the International Governing Council of the International Right of Way Association in New Orleans, so it seems appropriate to post about a recent case out of New Orleans, involving everyone’s favorite delicious New Orleans bite to eat, oysters. The United States Court of Federal Claims recently handed [...]
In a previous blog post, we explained that landowners in Virginia were threatening to challenge a state statute that they say permits landowners to enter private property to retrieve hunting dogs as a taking of their property under the rationale announced in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, 141 S. Ct. 844 (2020). We also warned [...]
Chances are, you’ve never heard of Craig’s Creek. It’s a small stream—barely a trickle when compared to the creeks in eastern Virginia—nestled in the mountains of Craig County. It serves as a tributary of the James River and as a venue for kayakers but not much else. It is crossed by a few road bridges [...]
The Virginia General Assembly has now adjourned its regular session, and both bills that were previously described on this blog have survived, though in modified form. The changes to Senate Bill 666, previously discussed here, and Senate Bill 694, previously discussed here, will be discussed in more detail below. Senate Bill 666 The primary modification [...]
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 [...]
When we launched a brand-new podcast in August of last year designed for people with an interest in the right-of-way industry, who would of thought it would have come this far this fast? The Pendulum Land Podcast is now in its second season and in the Top 100 on iTunes! We at RightofWay.law are particularly [...]
Coal extraction remains an important industry in the Appalachian region, so claims related to coal and other mineral rights make frequent appearances in the eminent domain caselaw of states in the area. A recent example is a Pennsylvania Supreme Court case involving an inverse condemnation claim asserted by two coal companies against the Pennsylvania Department [...]
Ever think about who owns the bottom of a river? At least in Virginia’s tidal saltwater rivers, the answer is often that the state owns it and that people can rent state-owned river bottom in order to plant oysters for $1.50 per acre per year. So what does one get for a rent of [...]