Articles

Creating options: SCOTUS lets inverse condemnation suits in federal courts

The June 21 decision in Knick v. Township of Scott, Pennsylvania, 588 U.S. ___ (2019), overturned precedent requiring property owners to file inverse condemnation actions in state court before bringing a federal action. Instead, the 5-4 majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, determined the Fifth Amendment Takings Clause is triggered as soon as the government takes land without compensating the property owner.

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Justices to hear Lake County eminent domain case

The Indiana Supreme Court unanimously chose to hear two property-related cases, focusing on issues of eminent domain and deciding a case involving rental property fee exemptions for landlords in Bloomington and West Lafayette.

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COA: Judgment affirmed in eminent domain action

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of summary judgment to a town in an eminent domain action when it found the land was neither real property occupied by an owner nor agricultural land, so the previous owners were not entitled to receive enhanced compensation.

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COA sends I-69 property-taking dispute to damages trial

A property rights dispute between the state and a Monroe County property owner must proceed to a trial on damages after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined the state’s condemnation action against the Monroe County property constituted a compensable taking.

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Special judge halts ‘irrational’ Charlestown code enforcement

After criticizing a southern Indiana city’s practice of levying code violation fines against some, but not all, local property owners as “irrational,” a Scott County judge has issued a preliminary injunction requiring the city to issue fines in a consistent manner that complies with local ordinances.

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Judges rule against commissioners in eminent domain dispute

In a case involving the use of eminent domain to acquire land to expand the runway at the Clark County Airport, the Indiana Court of Appeals encouraged lawyers and the courts to stop using the phrase “jurisdiction over a particular case” when the term “legal error” should be used.

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