The "Virginia Eminent Domain CLE" returns this year for its seventeenth iteration (if we're counting live and mostly for the landowner's bar anyway), this time at the lovely Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia, May 9-10, 2024. The conference agenda is available here. My law partner Dave Arnold and I will be presenting on two different interesting [...]
Few things seem to stir as much controversy among neighboring waterfront property owners as piers. Common complaints range from concerns about the impact of a proposed pier on a neighboring owner’s viewshed, impairments to navigation, and encroachment into another owner’s riparian area. When dealing with such disputes, it’s wise to get out in front of [...]
The Supreme Court of the U.S. is expected to rule soon in a case that could have a profound impact on the development of natural gas pipelines. The case, PennEast Pipeline Co., LLC v. New Jersey, involves a natural gas pipeline project in the northeast. PennEast obtained a certificate of public convenience and necessity from [...]
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 [...]
The Virginia Supreme Court heard oral argument last week in Hooked Group, LLC v. City of Chesapeake . Anyone working in right of way in Virginia, particularly anyone working for or with municipalities, should pay close attention to the outcome of this case as it addresses the power to regulate traffic for public health, safety, [...]
Landowners in pipeline cases commonly attempt to introduce evidence that the existence of pipelines near their property will, in itself, reduce the value of their remaining land. In Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC v. 1.85 Acres of Land, Owned by Jacqueline J. Lucki, Case No. 7:19-cv-00147, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia [...]
The bill that would have imposed a moratorium on new natural gas pipeline construction in Virginia died without hearing or vote in the House Committee on Appropriations because it was not passed out of the House by “cross-over,” the date after which each house in the General Assembly may only consider bills originating in the [...]
As noted in a previous post, the Virginia General Assembly is currently considering a bill that, in its original form, would have allowed landowners to simply declare the residue of their land remaining after a partial take an uneconomic remnant and force localities acquiring such property for highway projects to take the owner’s entire parcel. [...]
Senate Bill 485, which is currently pending before the Virginia General Assembly, would require entities that condemn land for a highway project to condemn an owner’s entire parcel whenever the owner demands it. Under the proposed bill, the owner of the parcel, not the condemnor, would decide whether the residue the owner is left with [...]
The 14th Annual Virginia Eminent Domain CLE, amusingly now sub-titled "Planning for Virginia's Future," will be held at the same venue again this year as it has for the last several years, the Tides Inn in Irvington, Virginia, April 30 - May 1, 2020. We expect the usual potpourri of interesting topics in takings, relocation, [...]